NEW YORK — A doorman shoveling snow outside his building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side died Thursday morning when he slipped and fell into a glass window, officials said.
Miguel Gonzalez, 59, was clearing the steps leading down to the lobby when he fell and smashed into the window of the 5-story apartment building at 333 E. 93rd St. around 9:30 a.m., according to WPIX.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan called it a “very sad situation.” Gonzalez sustained cuts in the neck and face and died a short time later at Metropolitan Hospital, police said.
Gonzalez had recently sold his home in Connecticut and planned to retire to Puerto Rico next year, said friend Victor Paz, the superintendent of a nearby building. He was married and had a son.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo paid tribute to Gonzales while thanking all of those who are working to keep residents safe during the storm.
He was widely described by neighbors as a nice man who was always smiling and joking. Gonzalez had worked as a doorman at the Upper East Side apartment building for decades.
“My heart goes out to the family of doorman Miguel Gonzalez who died shoveling this morning. Thanks to all working today to keep NY’ers safe,” Cuomo tweeted.