By: Charles Lee
Residents and commuters alike rarely fear of plunging into the depths of the Upper East Side, as should Ulanda Williams, 32, who experienced painful injuries because of an unsupported sidewalk at about 9:10 p.m. Friday. “Thank God, they said that my size was the only thing that saved me,” Williams, a 400-pound Queens pedestrian who referenced her weight as her saving grace to The Post. Williams, a social worker, not only broke an arm in two places, but also was seen leaving New York-Presbyterian Hospital with visible bruises and cuts from her face and neck. “It was horrible, absolutely horrible,” cried Williams, who also said that there were no impeding warning signs or any viable sidewalk danger that led to the innocent woman’s 6-foot fall.
City Department of Buildings inspectors discovered a 4-by-6-foot section of the sidewalk spilling into a vault cellar in the front façade of the UES building, which led to the sighting of other hazardous violations- defective steel doors and a loose first-floor staircase. Owners of the building at 301 E. 60th St., near the ramp to the 59th Street Bridge around the corner of Second Avenue, already had several open violations according to the DOB Web site. In 2011, a complaint was made saying that the façade was coming loose and the DOB most recently issued another violation for a failure to maintain the building.
Owner of Forward Realty, Remo Salta, 52, of Ridgewood, NJ stated his property had no violations and bought the building as an investment in 1995. “I didn’t hear anything about this,” Salta has said regarding Williams’ fall. “When I’m standing here waiting for the bus, I take a look around once in a while and notice how decrepit the street and buildings look,” said UES local Bobby Robertson, 56. “You can see cracks in the walls and in the concrete, too. The owners don’t do any upkeep.”
