Yesterday afternoon, a window washer fell 12 stories to his death from a Greenwich Village building. The incident occurred at 40 Fifth Avenue, a 17-story apartment building near 11th Street. A witness said, "Around 4:30 p.m., I hear the people screaming, screaming and screaming call the police." The NY Times reports that the victim was a "well-liked," "self-employed contractor who had been washing windows and doing other work at the building for 20 years." While the incident is being investigated, the man was wearing a harness. Earlier in the day, two window washers were rescued after their scaffolding basket stalled around the 30th floor of a Times Square skyscraper. more ›

Two cousins working as window washers died early this morning at the World Financial Center, on Vesey Street. WABC 7 reports that they seemed to be moving the lift, "which can lift three to four stories into the air, when the vehicle hit a depression in the roadway. The lift toppled over, crushing them." The men, ages 35 and 37, died from their injuries. The police and other agencies have been investigating the incident throughout the night; the city has been trying to improve safety for construction and window washing practices after a series of fatal accidents. more ›

Last month, scaffolding holding two window cleaners outside a 47-floor building on East 66th Street collapsed, leaving one of the cleaners dead and the other, his brother, with massive injuries. Now, the survivor's doctors and wife are talking about his "miraculous" recovery, as he's alert and talking - and may even be able to walk in a year. more ›

This morning, two workers fell from window washing scaffolding set up around a 40-story building at 265 East 66th Street between Second and Third Avenue. It's unclear how high the workers were, but they fell onto the roof of a neighboring 6-story building. WNBC reports one of the workers is dead and one is in critical condition. Another report said the two workers were brothers. Traffic is backed up on Second and Third Avenues... more ›