Conflicting reports from various witnesses and news sources make it unclear how a woman fell through the floor of an East Harlem restaurant last week, but her injuries were substantial enough that she had to be rescued from the basement of the building by the fire department.
The incident occurred at Joy Burger Bar on Lexington Avenue near East 100th Street. There is a hatch on the floor near the front of the restaurant that provides access to the basement, which may or may not have been open, causing the woman to fall nearly eight feet to the concrete floor below.
The woman’s husband told NBC New York that “the floor door suddenly gave way” while she was on top of the hatch area. CBS New York, however, reported that “at some point in the afternoon, the panel was up” and the woman “fell through the open hole.”
Injured from the fall, the woman was unable to make her way out of the basement on her own. The FDNY arrived for assistance, carrying her out on a stretcher through a narrow two-foot-square door on the south side of the building along 100th Street.
The woman’s husband told a photographer on the scene that she was seriously injured and in a lot of pain. Approximately 22% of fall or slip accidents can result in over 31 days away from work, though she was transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital in stable condition.
The restaurant, Joy Burger Bar, has not provided any further details about the event, Tweeting: “We have no new information about the incident that occurred at the store this afternoon, but we are concerned and wish for a speedy recovery.”
Customer traffic appeared to be business as usual the following day for the restaurant, where diners were safely and securely seated above the basement hatch door.
22Sep
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