Lawyer Killed During Storm - Wall Street Journal

By JENNIFER MALONEY

Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal

Officials inspect the area outside Christ Church in Cobble Hill on Friday after area resident Richard Schwartz was struck and killed by falling debris during a storm Thursday.

A lightning strike that sent scaffolding toppling onto a Brooklyn sidewalk killed a state lawyer Thursday amid a fierce regional storm that downed trees, disrupted commuter railroads and knocked out power to tens of thousands of New York-area homes and businesses.

Across New York state, more than 500 crews were working to restore power to 43,000 customers Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado had touched down in upstate Elmira, with winds reaching 110 mph.

New York State Electric & Gas expected by Friday night to have 90% of customers restored in all of its divisions except Elmira. New Jersey power companies restored power to most of the more than 20,000 customers who lost electricity in the storm.

Still, the storm was not as destructive as officials had feared.

"The area did dodge a little bit of a bullet," said Joey Picca, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Gusts as strong as 60 mph blew trees across the tracks on three branches of Metro-North Railroad, disrupting service for about an hour, and one branch of the Long Island Rail Road, where service resumed early Friday.

In Middle Island on Long Island, an 18-year-old man was taken to St. Charles Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after he was shocked while playing Xbox in his basement, the Suffolk County police department said. Lightning had apparently struck his house.

Adam Fenster/Reuters

A bent stop sign is evidence of a tornado that hit Elmira, N.Y., during the same widespread storm.

In what is believed to be the only New York-area death linked to the storm, Assistant Attorney General Richard Schwartz was fatally struck by scaffolding knocked from Christ Church as he walked near his Cobble Hill home at about 8 p.m. Thursday. The church had been hit by lightning.

No violations were issued by the city Buildings Department and the property had no previous violations, a department spokeswoman said.

Nicola Wheir, 38 years old, watched from her apartment window as lightning hit the church.

"The next thing I heard, it sounded like thunder, but it was way louder and longer than thunder," she said. "Then I realized that the sound was rolling down the side of the building."

She said she called 911 while her husband ran outside to the 61-year-old Mr. Schwartz, who was alert and talking, insisting he would be fine. He was taken to Long Island College Hospital and later died.

Mr. Schwartz, who according to a neighbor had a teenage daughter, worked for more than 25 years as an antitrust lawyer in the attorney general's economic justice division, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

"New York is a better place because of Richard's commitment to fairness and legal excellence," he said. "Richard's loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers."

Mr. Cuomo, in a statement, called Mr. Schwartz "a dedicated public servant and attorney."

"His work ethic and his passion were an inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him," he said.

—Alison Fox, Sean Gardiner, Heather Haddon and Joseph De Avila contributed to this article.

Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared July 27, 2012, on page A21 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Lawyer Killed During Storm.