A 2-year-old girl died after falling from a fifth-floor apartment window in Mott Haven late Tuesday night, law enforcement sources said. NYPD emergency personnel rushed to the building after the fall but could not save the toddler, who was pronounced dead at a Harlem hospital hours later.
According to News12, NYPD emergency personnel responded to 572 East 138th Street just after 10:45 p.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, they found the child unconscious and unresponsive, the outlet reported, citing sources close to the investigation.
Those sources told the station that the girl fell through the gap between a window divider and an air-conditioning unit. Paramedics transported her to Harlem Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. As of Wednesday, the child's identity had not been immediately released, per the same account.
Investigation Details Remain Limited
The circumstances that led to the fall, including whether any safety equipment was installed in the window, have not been detailed publicly. The station's report attributes the account of how the child fell specifically to sources close to the investigation, not to an official NYPD statement, and no further findings have been released.
The Mott Haven death comes months after another fifth-floor window fall in the same neighborhood drew headlines. In July, a child fell from a fifth-floor apartment window at 593 Oak Terrace, with emergency personnel called to the scene just before 6:45 p.m. that Friday, according to a separate News12 report, which described the child as a 1-year-old boy. CBS New York and NBC New York instead identified that child as a 2-year-old boy, a discrepancy that has not been resolved in subsequent reporting.
A Different Outcome in July
That earlier case had a markedly different outcome. NBC New York reported the boy fell from a window into a courtyard area, and CBS New York reported he was found alert and conscious before being taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition. CBS also reported that a person of interest was taken into custody in that case, though no charges had been filed at the time of its report.
Window Guard Rules and Citywide Numbers
New York City requires owners of buildings with three or more apartments to provide and properly install approved window guards in any apartment where a child age 10 or younger resides, according to NYC Health. Tenants without children may also request window guards be installed, the agency says.
NYC Health has tracked window falls among young children for years. The agency reported nine window falls among children 10 or younger in 2023, including two fatalities, and nine nonfatal falls in 2024. For 2025, the agency reported just four falls, with none fatal. In 2022, the agency said three window falls occurred, one tied to improperly installed window guards and two linked to improper window air-conditioner installation.
No information has been released about whether window guards were present in the Mott Haven apartment where Tuesday's fall occurred, or about the status of any investigation into the child's death.
