By Katy Gagnon
Kevin Kelly, 25, was installing window panels on the 23rd floor of the building at 400 East 67th St. around 10:30 a.m. when the nylon safety harness connecting him to the building failed and he fell to the 14th floor balcony, the officials said. Kelly, who lived with his father at 73-84 Springfield Blvd., was pronounced dead at the scene, the police and FDNY said.”[Kevin] was totally loved by everybody,” Kelly's older sister Francine Moncrief said Tuesday. “There wasn't a mean bone in his body.”The Buildings Department has issued 25 violations since construction began in April 2007, department officials said. All but one of the violations were issued to the site's general contractor, Hunter Roberts Construction Group. Kelly was an employee of New York Window, which was contracted by Hunter Roberts, Buildings Department officials said.According to the Buildings Department, only one of the 25 violations was outstanding. The rest of the violations were corrected.Moncrief said she had heard a million different things about what happened in Monday accident but cautioned that “nothing has been 100 percent confirmed.”Kelly, a die-hard Mets fan, was using his skills as an ironworker at the Manhattan site, his sister said. “He loved working with his hands,” she said. “He was following in his father's footsteps.” Both Kelly and his father were ironworkers, Moncrief said.In light of Monday's accident, the Buildings Department stopped construction at the site and issued five new violations, including one for damaged safety netting at the 23rd, 24th and 25th floors.A full safety inspection, including a look into how crews installed the safety straps, is underway, said Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster.Colleen Rugg, a spokeswoman for Hunter Roberts, said the company has contacted local authorities and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and an investigation is underway.Kelly is survived by his father Richard, his older sisters Francine and Stacey and his younger brother Matthew. A viewing will be held for Kelly at Frederick Funeral Home on Northern Boulevard in Bayside from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. A mass was scheduled Friday at 9 a.m. at the American Martyrs Church on Bell Boulevard in Bayside.
