GoFundMe Started For Worker Who Fell From Brooklyn High-Rise

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A GoFundMe has raised nearly $3,000 to help the family of a construction worker who fell from a Brooklyn Heights high-rise last week pay for his funeral.

Erik Mendoza was working on a construction site last Wednesday morning at the 1 Pierrepont St. building when he fell 13 stories, according to police and the fundraiser.

"He was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late, he had died on impact," the GoFundMe reads.

Mendoza left behind a 5-year-old son in Mexico, two siblings and his mother, Elizabeth Mendoza, the fundraiser, set up by the mother's friend, said.

So far, the community has raised $2,780 of the fundraiser's $5,000 goal. The money will be used to cover expenses from Mendoza's funeral this week and to have his body flown back to Mexico.

The service was held at Rivera Funeral Home on Monday.

"Elizabeth is one of the sweetest and most hardworking people you will ever meet," the fundraiser concludes. "Our hearts are breaking with hers as she endures this hard time. We love her endlessly and hope that these efforts will bring her some comfort in the coming months."

Mendoza's death was one of several construction worker fatalities in the last few weeks that has prompted calls to action from several elected officials.

This week, 34-year-old Gregory Echevarria was killed when a crane counterweight fell on him at a construction site at 570 Broome Street. Another worker was killed by falling debris at a Turtle Bay construction site a few days before Mendoza died.

The deaths prompted Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. to call for a safety law passed in 2017 to be put into effect, according to The Real Deal.

The law, Local Law 196 requires all construction workers to complete an approved 100-hour safety training program. Its first phase of implementation, requiring 30 hours of training, was pushed back six months due to insufficient resources in November.

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