The body of a man was found in a second floor apartment on Essex Street, near Grand Street, earlier today. The 27-year-old has not yet been identified. He was found at about 11:30 a.m. in his bed. There were no apparent signs of trauma. A cause of death has not been determined.
More from the Daily News, which first reported the story:
Caridad Alvarado, the owner of (a) hair salon at (39) Essex St… said she had smelled a horrible odor since Sunday, but thought it was because of nearby porta-potties. The smell worsened on Monday so she lit incense and called the landlord, but he only knocked on the victim’s door. She was horrified when she noticed a deep red stain on the salon’s bathroom ceiling Tuesday. “I saw blood dripping from the ceiling in the bathroom and called cops,” she said.
Note: The Daily News reported that the apartment was located above ahair salon near Essex Street and Rivington Street. The salon is actually further down on Essex, between Grand Street and Hester Street.
UPDATE 6:02 p.m. More details from The Lo-Down’s Alex Gerald, who was on the scene:
Caridad Alvarado, the owner of Grace Unisex Salon, said it was yesterday at about 3 p.m. when she noticed blood coming down from the ceiling of her bathroom. When her landlord checked the apartment, the door was locked. This morning, Alvarado put on a surgical mask and checked the bathroom again. The odor had become worse. After more pleading with her landlord, she finally called 9-1-1 and later cancelled all of the salon’s appointments. Emergency crews climbed up the fire escape and went through a front window. Haz mat teams were called to the scene. The body was removed a short time ago. The brother of the victim was at the apartment this afternoon. The victim was staying in the apartment while a longtime tenant was out of town. Alvarado said she’d seen the man off-and-on around the building during the five years she’s worked on Essex Street. A neighbor said this evening that the victim recently lost his job but was not distressed. He described the man as a happy person.
