Overview
- Police and the child’s parents say the toddler squeezed through an accordion-style plastic panel beside a window air conditioner and fell five stories from the Mott Haven apartment late Tuesday night.
- First responders took the girl to Harlem Hospital where she was pronounced dead and police said they are investigating while saying no criminality is suspected.
- The family told reporters they had installed the in-window AC unit themselves and the building superintendent said the plastic side panels were only secured with tape.
- Neighbors and relatives have built a memorial and held a prayer vigil as the parents mourn and seek money for funeral costs and plans to return the child to a family burial plot.
- The city Department of Health urged property owners to install and maintain window guards and noted that new January rules require guards or devices that prevent windows from opening more than 4.5 inches.