Same-Sex Marriage Bill REJECTED in New York State Senate
Video: Times Square Obama Afghanistan Protest Arrests
Catholic League Pissed at PETA
New Photo Brings Flying Overweight Debate Back
State Sen. Savino Gets Noticed For Impassioned Gay Marriage Speech
At around 1:15 this morning a report came in over the newswire that a male had fallen down an elevator shaft at Broadway and Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A reader sent in photos shortly after, and the building the incident took place in is actually at 338 Berry, between South 4th and South 5th streets — a former noodle factory converted into various multi-use spaces, including residential lofts. The victim was at a party in the building being hosted by the Uniform Project. After the fall he was in serious condition, unconscious and unresponsive. We'll update when we get more details.
UPDATE: The victim, a 34-year-old male, has died. ABC News is reporting that he "was trying to jump out of a broken elevator when a piece of his clothing caught on something. He then fell five stories, to the bottom of the shaft."
UPDATE II: The man who died was Gerhardt (Jerry) Fuchs, drummer for the bands The Juan Maclean and Maserati (and former drummer for !!!); the latter just recently ended a tour. A friend writes that he is survived by his parents, two sisters, a brother, and "an impressive canon of records on which he's performed, countless mouth-agape audiences in awe of his work, dozens of heart-crushed former bandmates, and an endless parade of true friends around the world."
UPDATE III: His bandmates in Maserati have written that they, "with overwhelming sadness, bid farewell to our drummer and dear friend Jerry Fuchs. Love you, bro."
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Sad. The media should really get the word out that you should not try to jump out of a stalled elevator that's well above floor level. Use the intercom and wait for help. This is the second time in a year that something like this has been reported on Gothamist.
I thought that was common sense/knowledge! Falling out of the elevator = bad. I guess not though...
No, it's not common knowledge. When an elevator stalls three or four feet above a floor, many people automatically think, "Hey, it's only a few feet down. I can jump out." They don't realize that there's a big opening between that floor and the bottom of the elevator and that if they lose their balance, they'll fall backward into the open shaft. That's probably what happened here and what happened to that 9-year-old last year. It's just a bad idea all around to climb out of a stalled elevator without either the fire department or elevator mechanics having shut off the power first. There was that story a couple of years ago about somebody trying to climb out when the elevator suddenly started to move. There was blood everywhere, the papers said.
It appears to be an old freight elevator with a door interlock system. They can be very dangerous. A resident of our building fell down the shaft from the first floor to the basement due to a faulty interlock system, fortunately he only broke his snkles. Not so fortunate for the owner of the building next door who backed into an open shaft and fell to his death. People who don't know how to use those elevators should not try to operate them.
I rented a space in that building in the mid 90's. The people working the office and elevator (one being the owners son) stole money and property from us and other renters, they were real assholes. We would have to rent them out to get elevator service on the weekends. Not sure if they were involved, and my heart goes out to the man who passed away and his family, But i hope the owners get what's coming to them
My heart goes out to this fellow, his friends, and family. What a tragic accident. God speed.
A fine drummer and a fine man. Indie rock has lost one of the greatest drummers who ever lived. This man was Gerhardt (Jerry) Fuchs from Maserati.
gerry was one of the nicest and enthusiastic people i've met among indie musicians, not to mention an incredibly good drummer that everyone wanted in their band. sad sad sad...
Terrible.
I had the same thought.
Jerry was one of the most talented musicians I have had the pleasure to see. When I first met him at Brownies years ago he was drumming for Turring Machine and I was glad to have struck up a friendship with him. It was always great to see him on the street or at a festival site in Germany somewhere. I will miss randomly crossing paths with him and sharing time catching up. A terrible loss.
I wouldn't normally do this, but jesus, there are some really cold people on here commenting. whether you knew him or not, what on earth would make you want to scrutinize the events of someone's death? i shouldn't give you any energy by even pointing out that you are a douche bag, but I couldn't stop myself..
Oh, take a chill pill. You don't know what a douchebag is until you see a commenter say, "Ha! Darwin wins again!" People should be better informed so that this doesn't have to happen to anybody else. Or are you too stuck on your high horse to think about anybody else?
well i wasn't referring to the informative ones, thanks. i was referring to comments such as "I thought that was common sense/knowledge! Falling out of the elevator = bad. I guess not though.." and "Well, it seems as if Williamsburg's claim to hipness is over: Law & Order already ran with this plot line... two or three years ago!"...
I've removed the Law & Order comment at the request of the person who posted it.
Very sad to hear. Wishing the family and friends the very best. What an amazing drummer. At a loss.
RIP
You make me sick with your glib comment. Don't you know Jerry's loved ones are reading this? And that's the first comment they see. You should be ashamed.
This comes as terrible news. I played many shows with Jerry, and attended school with him in Athens, GA in the early 90's. To family and friends, my thoughts are with you.
Jerry, rest in peace my friend. The world has a gaping hole without you.
met him at at Maclean show here in Dallas...super nice guy and a great talent. Was literally floored by his skills. This is a really horrible accident. Those things are dangerous. Condolences to his family and all of his cohorts in music.
He was the nicest motherf*cker i've ever met. I am truly lucky to have been his friend. My life is immeasurably better for having known him, without a doubt.
those north brooklyn factory lofts are pretty cool, but you have to wonder how often landlords and tenants trade off the "run-down" aesthetic for safety concerns. not to mention profit and (relatively) cheap rent.
that being said "!!!" probably has one of the most widely recognized names/album covers in recent history. between !!! and his other projects, this guy was quite accomplished!
I am very familiar with this building, I moved out about two months ago. The elevator is an industrial freight elevator and is supposed to be scheduled for use days in advance. This is so the attendant who is licensed to operate it will be there. I'm not sure whether or not these people got permission to use it for the party, but it would surprise me if they did. I was never able to schedule a time to use it when I moved. If they didn't have permission, I'm not sure how they were able to open the doors, there should be a lock. My brother and I took a quick look at it when I was moving and decided we'd rather deal with back pain than try and use that "elevator."
Regardless of who was at fault, absolutely no one deserves to die that way. Simply terrible. This is a tragedy, and my heart goes out to the family and friends of Jerry. Not only has the world lost a genuine and loved person, but also a great talent. Stories that could have been prevented are among the hardest to read.
Wow..such a lost..just saw him this Summer in Denver. NYC SUCK but you should not have to lose your life to stay in the music game. RIP JERRY!
First, condolences, sincere ones, to his family and friends. This is a horrible tragedy.
I am NOT here to blame the victim. I just desperately want people to take these elevators seriously. People think - they're there, they must be okay, hey, this is cool and edgy!
--This is why things like certificates of occupancy in buildings are important, and aren't the Man trying to hold you down.
--I had a friend lose a finger in one of these elevators a few years ago. It destroyed their musical career. Yes, there was a lawsuit and yes, her medical bills were taken care of, as well as damages, but their music career effectively ended that night.
Please be careful. Please make a ruckus to make sure the landlord does what they're supposed to do with these. Please, please be careful.
:(