Sunday, September 25, 2011

Air conditioner falls out of window on Second Avenue

Around 1 p.m., we were walking south down Second Avenue, thinking about how many women wear football jerseys on Sundays when.... we heard a commotion! It sounded like an accident. Then we saw what had happened. An air conditioner fell out of a window from an apartment above the Moonstruck Diner at Fifth Street...

Thankfully, it landed on the Moonstruck awning...


Based on eyewitness accounts, we think this is what happened. Unscientifically...


This happened just one block to the north ... and almost one year to the date of another AC accident, though that one was far more serious.

Related reading at Runnin' Scared from July:
How Often Do Air Conditioners Fall Out of NYC Windows and Kill People?

6 comments:

James Campbell Taylor said...

I wrote a piece on this subject earlier this summer: http://www.jamescampbelltaylor.com/2011/07/some-like-it-hot/

Tom said...

Oh man, I lived in that apartment building for 12 years! This building was also featured in Grieve's post, "A Stroll Through Christmas Village" - http://evgrieve.com/2010/12/stroll-through-christmas-village.html. Glad no one got hurt. Still baffled by why the installation of window air conditioners above the ground floor is not regulated by New York City.

Marty Wombacher said...

One of my biggest fears is of falling air conditioner units. Glad no one got hurt.

Anonymous said...

last month I noticed an air conditioner propped up on books in the 2nd floor apt of 94 second ave right above candela restaurant. At the time I hoped it would be stable enough to withstand hurricane irene.

i'm surprised you dont' see a lot more of these accidents. most of these old buildings don't have A/C sleeves and people simply prop an air conditioner on the window ledge with whatever they can find. and finding enough electricity to power an air conditioner in such old buildings is another problem. some of these place don't have 20 amps supplying a few outlets in 1 room (like in a modern condo, or apartment), but max 15 amps supplying practically half the entire apartment!!

Jeremiah Moss said...

if only they would fall on the football jersey yahoos screaming up and down 2nd and 3rd avenues all day long.

Tom said...

@Anon 3:50 pm - IIRC, my 2 bedroom apt in that building (88 Second Ave) had one 15 amp fuse for the whole apt. I offered to pay the landlord his costs plus a premium to bring another line into the apt so that I could have A/C. He refused because he wanted me out (our rent when we finally left was about $300 a month).