A tragic accident occurred in New York City recently, when a prominent member of the New York elite society lost her life after being hit by falling building materials while she was taking a 10-minute walk near to the place where she worked as a vice president.
60-year-old Erica L. Tishman was an established architect, who was known not only as being an outstanding professional, but she also was a board member to many educational and charity organizations.
According to the CEO and president of one of the nonprofit organizations, where Tishman was a board member, Educational Alliance, Alan van Capelle, her death was a tragic loss to the society, and all those who knew her felt like a piece of their soul had been ripped out.
Capelle stated: “She was so incredibly smart and indefatigable. We feel like a piece of our soul has been ripped apart. She is, in every way, a extraordinary New Yorker. I’m sorry. You hate to lose a good New Yorker, a good neighbor.”
Erica, whose maiden name was Lindenbaum, first attended the Bronx-situated Riverdale Country School and then continued her education at Princeton University.
After her graduation, Lindenbaum married her partner, Steven Tishman, who works as a financial analyst.
Later in life, Erica graduated Harvard University Graduate School of Design with a master’s degree in architecture and started work in the prestigious firm DeWitt Tishman Architects in 1993.
During her architectural career, Tishman participated in many prestigious projects, such as the Trump Plaza in Jersey City, which was built in 2008 and also on Trump Bay Street, which was finished eight years later.
In 2017, Erica became the vice president at the firm Zubatkin Owner Representation, which deals with construction project management.
Following her tragic death, there are still no comments from the company executive, Jason Zubatkin.
For her funeral, 2,000 mourners listened to the moving eulogy delivered by Erica’s husband, Steven, at an Upper East Side synagogue.
He stated: “She packed 100 years of love and friendship and activities into 60 years. She lived a full life, and she had no regrets at all. I have been in love with her from the very first day that I met her in Princeton in October 1978.”
He continued with: “Our love was unconditional and pure. We had an incredible marriage. We never took a day off from each other in 37 years of marriage. The greatest gift that Erica ever gave me, other than my children, was my wedding ring. I truly believe that I hit the jackpot. You don’t know this, but from every morning from the day that we met — every day since 1982 — told her that I loved her, and I took her face in my hands and kissed her before I left for work every day. For 37 years, we did that every day. And Erica would always say that that particular kiss wasn’t good enough. It was our little joke that she wanted another kiss. Those were the last words she said to me on Tuesday before she passed away. I will never be able to do that again.”
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is calling for a probe of Erica’s death.
Johnson said: “This was a tragedy, and I am devastated for Ms. Tishman and the loved ones and friends she leaves behind. We need a full investigation into how this happened, and all those responsible need to be held accountable. We need to hear loud and clear from the Department of Buildings what they are doing in terms of enforcement to ensure that New Yorkers do not have to fear death from above due to crumbling and mismanaged buildings.”
The building’s owners, Hillman-Meringoff, plan to cooperate with the city for the investigation. Erica also leaves behind three adult children.
