Man confirmed dead after passersby on Upper West Side keep walking over him
The man, discovered about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday on the steps of Westsider Records, was wearing shoes with no laces that were held together by several socks, and he was lying face down, witnesses said. An FDNY spokesman said somebody at the scene flagged down an ambulance.
BY EDGAR SANDOVAL , TINA MOORE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, February 3, 2015, 6:07 PM
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TOMAS E. GASTONEMTs take away a man found dead in the cold Tuesday on the Upper West Side. Someone finally flagged their ambulance down after people had been stepping over the body.
A man was found dead on the steps of an Upper West Side record store Tuesday after people who were stepping around him realized he wasn't moving, witnesses said.
Cops said the Hispanic man had no identification on him when he was found about 9:20 a.m. at 233 W. 72nd St. They were checking to see whether he was homeless, police sources said.
The man was wearing shoes with no laces that were held together by several socks, and he was lying face down on the steps, witnesses said.
FedEx worker Nini Lamont, 26, said a customer in Westsider Records was shocked that people were walking over him.
TOMAS E. GASTONA customer at Westsider Records, pictured, was shocked that people were walking around the dead man who was on the steps leading to the shop.
“She was upset, saying, ‘How can people walk over him like that?’” she said. “I think he was there for a little while."
The cause of the man’s death was pending an autopsy. But frigid temperatures could have been a contributing factor, a homeless advocate who asked to remain anonymous said.
New York City has protocols in place to protect the homeless on nights that fall below 32 degrees — conditions the Department of Homeless Services calls “Code Blue.”
TOMAS E. GASTONThe Hispanic man had no identification on him when he was found on these steps at 233 W. 72nd St.
Hannibal Perez, 53, who works at the National Council of Jewish Women near the store, said he walked by the man without realizing he was dead.
“He was laying on the steps, face down,” he said. “He had a heavy jacket, waist length. The guy wasn't moving at all.”
An FDNY spokesman said somebody at the scene flagged down an ambulance.
TOMAS E. GASTONThe man could have died because of the frigid temperatures, a homeless advocate says.
Record store manager Bruce Edar, 59, noticed the man was wearing worn out white sneakers with no shoe laces that were held together by several socks.
“It's horrible, a night like last night,” he said. “Anyone in that condition should had been picked up and put in a shelter."
DHS spokesman Chris Miller said the agency was looking into the death. "We have a place for anyone who wants to come in from the freezing cold," he said.
