Anderson Cooper Sued

A 29-year-old interior designer is suing Anderson Cooper and the company owned by downtown architect and residential real-estate developer Cary Tamarkin after falling through a hole which once held a fire pole.

"She's lucky she's alive," lawyer Neil Greenberg said of his client, Killian O'Brien.

O’Brien fell through the hole on September 22, while working at the former firehouse.

"The hole should have been securely covered," Greenberg said. "The poles were removed. Somebody opened up the coverings before she got there."

The 17 foot fall could have been fatal, and the lawsuit calls O'Brien's injuries severe and permanent, but Greenberg declined to describe them in detail.

The lawsuit, which was filed in November in New York Supreme Court, seeks unspecified damages.

Cooper declined comment through a spokesman, and Tamarkin could not be reached. Greenberg said he believed Cooper's lawyers were still investigating the matter.

Cooper purchased the firehouse in September from the New York Board of Fire Underwriters, and neighbors say that he visits often.

One of his first moves was to hire Tamarkin, who is known for his modern residential restoration and construction throughout New York.

O'Brien has worked for several companies that specialize in upscale interior design. She could not be reached either.

The firehouse was home to the insurance-industry-backed Fire Patrol 2 from 1906 until 2006, when it was disbanded. The New York Board of Fire Underwriters, which oversaw the fire patrol, held onto the building until it was sold to Cooper.