December 18, 2019
by: AIA New York
Erica Tishman, AIA. Photo courtesy of LinkedIn.
Erica Tishman, AIA. Photo courtesy of LinkedIn.

AIA New York is deeply saddened by the news of architect and lifelong New Yorker Erica Tishman’s tragic death yesterday when debris fell from a 17-story building in Midtown Manhattan. According to reporting in The New York Times, the Department of Buildings had issued a violation to the building’s owner in April due to disrepair of the exterior building facade. An investigation into the building’s stability and the cause of the accident is ongoing.

In addition to being a member of AIANY and a decade-long supporter of the Center for Architecture, Tishman was a Vice President at Zubatkin Owner Representation, a project management firm, and a former chair of the Board of Directors at Educational Alliance, a social services agency on the Lower East Side. She also served on the Board of Trustees at the Riverdale Country School and at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Tishman, age 60, received her bachelor of arts from Princeton University and went on to receive a master’s in architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design.

As architects, we know too well the dangers that arise from a lack of effective government oversight and proper maintenance by building owners. AIANY will continue to advocate for safer building conditions throughout our city. Our thoughts are with Erica Tishman’s family.

In the Headlines
Woman Killed by Falling Debris Near Times Square (The New York Times)
Falling debris kills Manhattan architect as she was walking on a sidewalk (CNN)
Erica Tishman: A Tribute to the Manhattan Architect (Heavy.com)
Erica Tishman, architect, identified as woman killed by falling facade in NYC (New York Post)

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