On Tuesday, the owner of a New York construction company was charged with manslaughter after a five-year-old girl was killed in 2019 by a decorative stone fence with “dangerous defects”.
Nadeem Anwar, 46, of Valley Stream, a licensed contractor in Nassau County, and his company, City Wide Construction and Renovations, were hired to build a rock wall and facade work in September 2018 in Brooklyn, despite not being properly authorized by the New York City Department. . buildings. He allegedly had another contractor with an application for facade work.
Five-year-old Alisson Pinto-Chaumana and her mother Maria were visiting a friend on Harman Street in Bushwick around 8:30 pm on August 29, 2019, when Alisson began to climb a rock wall. It fell on top of her, crushing her skull and killing her.
Her mother stopped a passing ambulance and paramedics who were running down the street with her bleeding daughter in her arms. They were rushed to Wyckoff Hospital, but Alisson died upon arrival.
“I saw it all come crashing down, crushing her head,” Pinto-Chaumana told NBC in New York. “I lifted her up desperately – I lifted my daughter up, yelling at her, ‘Why did you have to leave me?’ My life. My love. She was so smart.
“I look to the side and then I see her falling and crushed – her whole head was crushed,” Chaumana told Telemundo in 2019.
Five-year-old Alisson Pinto-Chaumana and her mother Maria were visiting a friend on Harman Street in Bushwick around 8:30 pm on August 29, 2019 when Alisson climbed a rock wall and she fell on top of her, crushing her skull and killing her
City Wide Construction and Renovations and its owner Nadeem Anwar, 46, of Valley Stream, were charged with the manslaughter of Chauman (pictured), as well as reckless homicide, reckless endangerment, offering a false document to file documents, and falsifying a business. records on tuesday
The 68-inch high wall was a barrier to the patio and consisted of stone pillars topped with horizontal stone slabs. A New York City structural engineer who inspected the fence after it collapsed said it had “dangerous defects” because the posts lacked the necessary steel reinforcement.
Anwar also neglected to have a licensed engineer or architect perform a post-completion stability check on the wall, as required by city ordinance.
An engineer who inspected the fence after it collapsed determined that the wall was largely held together by weight and gravity, NBC New York told NBC New York, describing it as “extremely unstable” and “clearly in violation of numerous building code provisions.”
“He allegedly did not obtain the proper permits, nor did he strengthen and secure the structure as required by law,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Tuesday. “As a direct consequence of his supposed recklessness, the wall collapsed and caused the senseless death of a precious five-year-old.
Chaumana was climbing a stone fence (pictured) when it fell and killed her. An engineer inspecting the structure after it collapsed found that Anwar was unable to install the steel support beams as required, meaning that the stone fence was only held together by weight and gravity.
“My heart goes out to the victim’s family and we will now seek to bring this defendant to justice.”
Anwar was charged with manslaughter, negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, offering a false document for registration and falsifying business records on Tuesday in connection with Alisson’s death.
He was released without bail and is due back in court in May.
Alisson’s mother attempted to take the little girl to a passing ambulance, but she was pronounced dead before she reached the hospital.
Anwar, who is a licensed contractor in Nassar County, did not obtain the necessary work permits for New York City when he came to work for real estate on Harman Street (pictured)
The property owner, who reportedly paid $40,000 for the fence, was fined by the Department of Buildings at the time for failing to comply with property maintenance regulations.
Just a few days after her death, people gathered at the house where Alisson died to commemorate the little girl. Flowers, paintings, and soft toys dotted the fence, wrapped in police tape.
has attempted to contact Anwar and City Wide Construction and Renovations for comment.