Workers Rescued From High-Rise 'Catastrophe' By 'Excellent' FDNY

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A pair of workers were left dangling over 200 feet in the sky when their suspended work platform malfunctioned and plummeted two stories on Monday afternoon, officials said.

One neighbor watched the horrifying scene unfold from her kitchen window.

"Honestly, I was terrified," neighbor Marilyn Povodator told Patch. "I was terrified that the second cable would break and the worker would fall."

At about 3 p.m., Povodator heard a loud crash outside her kitchen and rushed to the window to see what it was.

What she saw was a sight Povodator described as "very upsetting."

Two men working on a suspended scaffolding as part of a facade restoration project on the 39-story Saratoga building at 330 East 75th St., between Second and First avenues, were in grave peril.

A motor on the scaffold had malfunctioned, causing the platform to plummet two floors before the emergency brakes were activated, according to Povodator's harrowing images and a Buildings Department spokesperson, shutting down East 75th Street for much of the late afternoon.

Povodator, as she watched from her home of 21 years, said she was "terrified that something dramatic would happen."

But it wasn't only horror on display — Povodator also watched an inspiring rescue effort save the dangling workers.

A project supervisor broke a nearby window and pulled one worker to safety, Povodator said.

And just minutes after the scaffolding fell, a FDNY rescue team was on the scene and pulled another worker to safety through a window on the 21st floor, according to the Buildings Department.

"The speed and the care I was witnessing from the fire department really averted a disaster," Povodator told Patch. "The fire department did an excellent rescue."

FDNY officials said they had secured the hanging scaffold, and the contractor soon got to work replacing the motor from an adjacent suspended scaffold, according to the Buildings Department.

No injuries were reported, according to a FDNY spokesperson.

An investigation into what happened is ongoing, the Buildings Department told Patch.