A Long Island builder whose company constructed a wall that collapsed and killed a 5-year-old girl in Brooklyn five years ago as her mother helplessly looked on has been convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Prosecutors said that the shoddy work of Nadeem Anwar, 48, of Valley Stream and his company, City Wide Construction and Renovations, was responsible for a wall giving way outside a Bushwick home as the girl stood nearby with her mother on Aug. 30, 2019.
Little Alysson Pinto-Chaumana and her mom, along with several of the girl’s friends, were visiting a home on Harman Street when the decorative stone fence tragically fell on the child.
Anwar was convicted at a bench trial, and sentenced to six months in jail followed by five years’ probation. His construction company was also fined $5,000
“This defendant’s egregious failure to follow the most basic safety provisions of the New York City Building Code caused the horrific, brutal and completely avoidable death of little Alysson, leaving her devastated mother heartbroken,” said Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez. “Today’s sentence sends a message that there will be serious consequences for contractors whose sloppy work endangers the public.”
Investigators said Alysson, her mother and the girl’s friends were waiting outside a three-story building near the front door on an enclosed patio that was fenced in by a stone wall made of heavy pillars and horizontal slabs.
Officials said the pillars and a slab fell inward onto Alysson, crushing her skull and causing her death.
“This tragedy underscores the critical importance of adhering to the city’s codes and regulations, which are designed to help promote the safety of everyone in our city,” said Department of Buildings Commissioner James Oddo. “The defendant’s disregard for these basic safety requirements led to an unimaginable loss.”
Officials said Anwar and his company were hired in September 2018 to build the wall and also renovate the building’s facade. Investigators said the company cut corners by committing numerous violations of the New York City Building Code.
Anwar was licensed as a contractor in Nassau County, but was not authorized to file for work permits with the New York City Buildings Department. He had another contractor file the application for the facade work, but not for the wall work, prosecutors noted.
There were no complaints filed with the city about the wall in the months before its sudden collapse took the young child’s life.
The heartbreaking incident was captured on video, with the mother and panicked relatives desperately scooping up the girl and climbing over the rubble to try to find her help that came too late.
