This is the rooftop where a young woman plunged to her death during a boozy rooftop birthday party in New York’s East Village, exclusive DailyMail.com photos can reveal as city records reveal a string of complaints on the building over the past year.
One of those complaints, from April, reported workers ‘installing a cinder block wall on the roof,’ according to records kept by the New York Department of Buildings. A city inspector wasn’t able to access the building at the time of the complaint, according to the records, and it’s not clear whether there was still construction on the roof.
The building’s owner, Highpoint Property Group, didn’t return requests for comment from DailyMail.com.
Finance worker Cameron Perrelli, 24, fell down an airway between the two buildings during in the early hours of Saturday morning at a party on the deck of an apartment building on Avenue A near the corner of East 12th St. Police say she lost her balance.
She was raced to nearby Bellevue Hospital by first responders but did not survive.
New York City Department of Buildings records show dozens of complaints about the Topanga Building at 202 Avenue A, where Perrelli attended the rooftop party before she fell.
Officials inspected the building just five days before Perrelli died, and on Monday issued a ‘stop work’ order – forbidding any additional construction on the apartment building, where construction apparently had been underway.
Construction was ordered to be stopped Monday because the building’s owner had not provided a ‘tenant protection plan,’ which the city requires to be filed before any major construction project.
Such plans make sure conditions aren’t made dangerous by construction – and make sure barriers are set up and exits are still accessible.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show just how perilous it would have been to attempt the rooftop crossing.
The Topanga building at 202 Avenue A, is about 4 feet lower than the neighboring building at 200 Avenue A that Perrelli was trying to cross to. The 3-4 foot airway between the buildings is where police told the DailyMail.com she fell.
A sign on the deck wall near where police say Perrelli fell warns people to remain 10 feet from the edge.
Her father Louis Perrelli said he was upset to hear of frequent late-night parties in the neighborhood.
‘It’s not like her to be a risk taker,’ Louis told the New York Daily News.
‘She was always the designated driver, the good person, the peacemaker. She was an angel.’
Officials say the area had been plagued by weekly late-night parties with large numbers of people that far exceeded safe occupancy levels.
The DailyMail.com contacted the NYPD seeking clarification around the different explanations for Perrelli’s death and whether criminal charges may follow.
In a statement, NYPD spokesman Edward Riley said the ‘investigation remains ongoing’.
Cameron Perrelli, 24, plunged to her death 3am Saturday down the airway of a building in NYC’s East Village after trying to cross next door, police say
The next door building that police claim Perrelli was trying to get to when she fell was about 4 feet higher than the deck where the party was
The airway gap between the buildings is where police say Perrelli fell to her death
A sign warns people on the deck to stand 10 feet back from the edge. Officials say the East Village area where Perrelli died has been plagued by late night dangerous rooftop parties
An empty Bud Light Seltzer can and party hat were still visible on the deck Monday morning
The brown metal and cinderblock wall is 202 and the yellow wall into that gap is 200 Avenue A. Perrelli allegedly fell into this gap
Her uncle Michael Perrelli says family have been told three conflicting accounts of the how Perrelli, left, died
Cameron’s uncle Michael Perrelli told the New York Daily News they had heard three different account of how she died.
‘That she was jumping from one building to the next, and we heard that she was walking on an air-condition vent, and then somebody just said she slipped.’
New York Councilwoman Carlina Rivera said the East Village area near where Perrelli died has been plagued by dangerous late-night parties where revelers would jump from rooftop to rooftop.
She had heard reports that the party early Saturday morning had been ‘dangerously overcrowded’, and was working on two pieces of legislation to make the city buildings safer.
One would require tenants to sign up to city noise codes and the second will enforce stricter oversight of rooftop use and capacity.
‘This tragedy shows just how dangerous overcrowded or mismanaged rooftop parties have become, and how often they have little to no safety protections or monitoring,’ Rivera told ABC7 New York.
Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer added his support to the new bills.
‘The tragic death of a woman who fell from a roof during a party in the East Village on Saturday is a painful reminder that City Hall and property managers are failing to step up when it comes to rooftop parties.’
Perrelli’s father Louis described Cameron, left, as a ‘peacemaker, an angel’
The building (artist’s impression) in NYC’s East Village where Perrelli fell from. The area has been plagued by ‘dangerously overcrowded’ and noisy rooftop parties, officials say
Penthouses with roof access in the building rent for $12,000 per month, according to StreetEasy
Perrelli, originally from Connecticut, completed a degree in business management at the University of Florida, according to her Linkedin account.
She moved to New York City in 2019 to start work at finance company Third Bridge Group.
Family said she was a regular gym goer, had a large social network of close friends, and used to go to New York Rangers and Yankees games with her father.
‘Her heart definitely belonged to New York, that’s for sure,’ her father told the Daily News.
The building where she died, The Topanga at 202 Avenue A, was renovated in 2018 to build 10 new apartments and duplex penthouses.
Several three and four bedroom penthouses with roof access are rented out for $12,000 per month, according to StreetEasy.
Perrelli’s uncle Michael also paid tribute to her in an online post.
‘She was so beautiful in mind body and soul,’ he wrote. ‘So hard to find logic in a loss of child… She will forever stay in are hearts and minds.
‘I know Cameron would want all of us to stay strong because her determination in life was to be and do the best she could in everything. Rest in piece our angel you will be forever in are hearts.’
Another uncle, Steve Perrelli, said his ‘heart is broken’.
‘My family has lost a true angel today,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘I love you!!..you were/are a shining star I will always cherish.’
Perrelli graduated from the University of Florida with a business management degree before moving to New York to work in finance
Perrelli, left, would often be the designated driver on nights out with friends, her family say
Perrelli, left, with a close friend, grew up in Connecticut but her ‘heart belonged to New York’, her father Louis said
In a statement, NYPD spokesman Edward Riley said police were called to the address at approximately 3:13am on Saturday after receiving a 911 call bout an unconscious person near Avenue A and East 12 St.
‘Upon arrival officers were informed a 24-year-old female fell from an elevated position (rooftop).
‘EMS transported the victim to Bellevue where she was pronounced deceased. The investigation remains ongoing.’
The owner of the Topanga building at 202 Avenue A, Highpoint Property Group, purchased it in 2017 for $6,75 million dollars, according to the EV Grieve East Village Blog.
The DailyMail.com has sought comment from Highpoint Property Group about its rooftop safety policies, whether they were being followed, and whether there have been previous breaches at the address.
They did not immediately respond to the request.
According to popular property sales and rentals site StreetEasy, buildings must meet the code requirements of the New York City Department of Buildings and the Fire Department before roof access can be obtained.
It reported the Department of Buildings began a crackdown in 2017 on illegal roof access.