Long Island

Suffolk

CO leak at Walt Whitman mall PQ

The Brookhaven Town Board is weighing a plan to require all new homes to install digital carbon monoxide detectors after a Huntington Station restaurant manager died from the poisonous gas earlier this year. 
Brookhaven officials said digital readouts on the detectors would show the presence of carbon monoxide before the gas reaches a lethal level. 
Councilwoman Connie Kepert, who proposed the resolution, said the devices would prevent residents from being sickened by the potentially fatal gas. 
"At [lower] levels, people still get sick," Kepert said. 
Some town board members expressed reservations about the resolution, with one saying it was flawed and unnecessary. 
Brookhaven earlier this year required commercial, office and industrial buildings to have carbon monoxide detectors, following the death in February of a manager at Legal Sea Foods in the Walt Whitman Shops. 
The manager died from fumes emitted by a faulty flue pipe. The restaurant did not have a CO detector, authorities said. 
State law currently requires homes to have CO detectors if they have an attached garage or devices that emit carbon monoxide. 
Brookhaven deputy town attorney Beth Reilly said digital detectors, unlike standard CO detectors, indicate carbon monoxide levels that may be too low to be lethal but are high enough to be dangerous. 
The town board meets Tuesday and is expected to schedule a public hearing on the resolution. 
Kepert's proposal triggered a lively debate during a town board work session on Thursday. Councilman Dan Panico said limiting the CO detector requirement to new houses would leave occupants of older dwellings more susceptible to being poisoned. 
"Wouldn't one want to have CO detectors on older housing that is more prone" to gas leaks? he said. 
Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said he was open to requiring detectors at new homes, but said he would be skeptical of requiring existing houses to install new equipment because of the cost. "We don't want to impose additional expenses on people who are struggling," he said. 
Officials said digital detectors cost about $65 each. 
Councilwoman Jane Bonner said she was not sure the town had enough resources to inspect homes and ensure they comply with the new law. 
"Why require something we can't enforce?" she said.

News

TOCARB09

Law requiring digital carbon monoxide detectors in new homes eyed in Brookhaven

Brookhaven Hall generic -- cropped

The Huntington Station restaurant closed last month by carbon monoxide poisoning that killed its general manager and sickened dozens has reopened -- with new carbon monoxide detectors -- as a top company official pledged to implement a safety plan that "exceeds" state standards. 
But the tragedy that hit Legal Sea Foods on Feb. 22, causing the death of general manager Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, will not be forgotten, the chain's president and CEO, Roger Berkowitz, said in a statement detailing the reopening Monday night. 
&nbsp;"We continue to mourn the loss of our general manager Steve Nelson, and we sincerely appreciate the kind thoughts, words of support and condolences expressed for the Nelson family and those affected by the carbon monoxide poisoning," Berkowitz said. 
There was a sparse lunch crowd Tuesday at Legal Sea Foods. A manager and the few patrons who trickled out declined to comment. 
The restaurant was one of three at the Walt Whitman mall closed in the immediate aftermath of the CO poisoning, caused when, Suffolk County police said, the gas leaked from a basement pipe. 
It was the last of the three restaurants to reopen. The Cheesecake Factory reopened the day after the tragedy, while Panera Bread got approval from the Town of Huntington to reopen a few days later. 
Nelson was found unconscious locked in a bathroom in the basement, Berkowitz said after the incident. 
Officials said more than two dozen employees and rescuers were treated at local hospitals. 
Police and town officials later said a faulty flue pipe attached to the heating system was the cause of the poisoning. The fatal leak sparked an outcry from state, county and local lawmakers for the passage of legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings. 
Berkowitz said in his statement that, since the fatal accident, the chain has installed carbon monoxide detectors "in all our locations." 
He also said Legal Sea Foods is hiring "a pre-eminent consulting engineering firm" to conduct "a full safety audit of all our restaurants" -- in order to implement a plan that "exceeds state requirements and building codes." Berkowitz said he has personally "reached out" to lawmakers and fire officials to push for mandatory CO detectors in commercial spaces. 
"Carbon monoxide leaks cause tragic events all too often," Berkowitz said. "I will continue to work diligently to ensure that stronger safety measures are put in place." 
With Nicole Fuller and Darren Simon

LILEGA12

Legal Sea Foods reopens after fatal CO leak

fdMall-li_BlackFriday-B cropped

Hempstead Town officials plan to introduce legislation next month to require carbon monoxide detectors in many businesses and public facilities. 
The proposal comes after a leaking flue pipe at a Huntington Station restaurant killed a manager and injured dozens more Saturday night. 
The law would require restaurants, bars, nightclubs, bowling alleys, gyms, churches, movie theaters and other public places to install carbon monoxide detectors. Violators could face a fine of as much as $500 and/or imprisonment of up to six months. 
"Carbon monoxide is commonly referred to as the silent killer because the gas cannot be seen or smelled," Town Supervisor Kate Murray said at a news conference Tuesday at Runyan's Restaurant in Seaford, saying detectors cost between $20 and $30. "You can't put a price on human life." 
The town code amendment would require all new "places of public assembly" to have detectors hard-wired on floors near systems that can produce carbon monoxide, such as furnaces, hot water heaters and stoves, and also one floor above. Existing businesses would be required to have standard detectors that plug into electrical outlets and would likely have 30 to 60 days to come into compliance, officials said. 
"Twenty-four years ago when my daughter was born, I installed a carbon monoxide detector at home," said Tony McGinley, owner of Runyan's for more than 33 years, "And the lightbulb went off and I installed it here too . . . It's almost a no-brainer." Runyan's has more than 15 employees. 
State law requires carbon monoxide detectors only for residences. The town board is to hold a hearing on the legislation on March 25 at 10:30 a.m. 
Nassau Democratic Legis. Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) plans to introduce a bill requiring the detectors at all county businesses, schools and recreational facilities. But Nassau Republicans said they don't plan on moving on Jacobs' bill because the state has jurisdiction. 
On Monday, state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) introduced legislation requiring detectors in commercial establishments. Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington) and Michael Montesano (R-Glen Head) are co-sponsors in the Assembly. 
With Robert Brodsky

TOHEMP26

Hempstead officials want carbon monoxide detectors in businesses

liCARB

The Suffolk medical examiner's office has ruled that carbon monoxide poisoning killed the manager of a Huntington Station Legal Sea Foods restaurant Saturday after the odorless gas leaked from a basement pipe, Suffolk police said Tuesday.
No other details of the autopsy for manager Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, were released, police said.
Nelson was discovered unconscious in the basement of the eatery, locked in a bathroom, according to Legal Sea Foods president and CEO Roger Berkowitz. Dozens of others were treated at local hospitals.
A faulty flue pipe attached to the heating system was the cause of the carbon monoxide leak, both police and Huntington Town officials have said. 
Meanwhile, state, county and local lawmakers are calling for the passage of legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings. Currently there's no such requirement in state law.

LICARB26

Autopsy: Carbon monoxide fumes killed Huntington Station restaurant manager

Nelson Comp 2--cropped

The death of a Copiague man in a Huntington Station restaurant after a carbon monoxide leak there has led to a flurry of legislation that would require carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in various commercial and business establishments. Several state legislators from Long Island, as well as officials in Suffolk County and Hempstead Town, are among those who have announced plans to address the issue. The local efforts are well-intentioned, but if carbon monoxide poisoning is a public health issue that warrants legislative action, it would be done most effectively on the state level. 
Carbon monoxide detectors already are required under state law in residences and multiple dwellings, such as hotels and motels, but there are no regulations governing their installation in most businesses. In studying the issue, lawmakers need to consider the facts. More than 400 people nationally die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning each year. The vast majority succumb from incidents in private homes. Only half of the 50 states require detectors in various types of residential buildings. That's unfortunate. 
But businesses do not have to wait to act while lawmakers pursue action. They are free to do the right thing -- as some already have -- and install carbon monoxide detectors on their own.

Opinion

VPCARB26

Don't wait to install carbon monoxide detectors

Whitman Mall

Nassau Democratic Legis. Judy Jacobs plans to introduce a bill this week requiring the mandatory installation of carbon monoxide detectors at all county businesses, schools and recreational facilities following a leak at a Huntington Station restaurant Saturday night that killed a manager and injured dozens more. 
State law currently requires carbon monoxide detectors only in private homes. 
“This is a common sense law,” said Jacobs (D-Woodbury), who plans to file her bill by the end of the week. “People should look at this law as a protection of their rights.” 
But, Cristina Brennan, a spokeswoman for the Republican majority in the county legislature, said the state has jurisdiction over changes to the building code and that Nassau lawmakers cannot act on the matter. 
“We have no objection to the requirement,” said Brennan. “But, we don’t have jurisdiction to do this. It’s handled through the state.” 
Peter Clines, counsel to Nassau legislative Democrats, said his caucus is still researching the law. 
“We are not prepared to assume that the county is powerless to address this important public safety issue,” Clines said. 
On Monday, State Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) introduced legislation requiring detectors in commercial establishments, saying the measure would close a "deadly loophole" in state law. Chad Lupinacci (R-Huntington) and Michael Montesano (R-Glen Head) are co-sponsors in the Assembly. 
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray also plans to require the detectors in a host of public facilities, including bars, restaurants and movie theaters. 
Suffolk Legis. John M. Kennedy Jr. (R-Nesconset) also plans to introduce a pair of resolutions next month that would create a task force aimed at requiring businesses across the state to install detectors and an immediate requirement for the equipment in Suffolk County municipal and college buildings. 
A faulty flue pipe in the heating system in the basement of Legal Sea Foods is responsible Saturday's carbon monoxide poisoning that killed restaurant manager Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, Huntington Town officials have said.

Politics

Lawmaker to push for required CO detectors

Nassau legislator to push bill requiring carbon monoxide detectors in businesses

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A Huntington Station Panera Bread, one of three eateries shuttered since Saturday after a carbon monoxide leak killed a manager at another restaurant, was scheduled to reopen Monday afternoon, a mall spokesman and town official said. 
The Town of Huntington's plumbing inspector has given Panera the go-ahead to reopen, said town spokesman A.J. Carter.
"The town plumbing inspector did go in and did certify that Panera is safe to reopen," said Carter. "So my understanding is the ball in National Grid's court to turn the gas back on."
A National Grid spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, but Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for the Walt Whitman Shops, said the utility company had arrived at the restaurant about a half hour ago.
Ryan said he was still awaiting word that the restaurant had officially reopened. 
The deadly carbon monoxide gas originated Saturday in a faulty flue pipe in Legal Sea Foods' heating system, killing manager Steven Nelson, town officials have said.
Carter said the town had not yet heard from Legal Sea Foods representatives about the status of the needed repairs to its heating system. 
Cheesecake Factory, which was also ordered closed Saturday, reopened Sunday, Ryan said. 
A Suffolk police spokeswoman said the medical examiner's office has not yet released a cause of death for Nelson, 55, of Copiague. She said she could not estimate when the information would be available. An official from the Suffolk fire marshal's office was not immediately available to answer questions, the police spokeswoman said.

LICARB25

Panera Bread at Walt Whitman Shops to reopen

liMALL -- cropped

Members of the Huntington Community First Aid Squad had been in the basement of Legal Sea Foods at Walt Whitman Shops at least 10 minutes and were lightheaded and nauseous when fire officials burst down the stairs Saturday night, Capt. Mark Cappola said. 
"They had their air tanks on and helmets on. They told us there was a high concentration of carbon monoxide and we had to get out of there immediately," he said Sunday. 
But members of the volunteer squad, who were performing CPR on a man identified later as restaurant manager Steven Nelson, would not budge, Cappola said. 
"We were refusing to leave unless they took our patient with us," he said. "We take it right to the edge before we abandon a patient." 
Cappola was among more than two dozen people, including four ambulance personnel and three police officers, sent to five hospitals with nonlife-threatening symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure, Suffolk police said. 
Nelson, 55, of Copiague, was later pronounced dead at Huntington Hospital, police said. The Suffolk medical examiner's office did not disclose the cause of his death. 
A four-person crew from the aid squad initially responded to a call about 6 p.m. for a fall victim that was upgraded to an unconscious victim, Cappola said. 
"It just looked like a routine call," he said. 
The crew found a woman unconscious in the basement, he said. Officials identified her as the restaurant's associate general manager, Megan Smith. 
"They put her on oxygen. They were able to revive her and I believe that's when they learned of [Nelson], who was in the bathroom," he said. "That bathroom door was locked. They called for a second ambulance and that's when I went." 
After Suffolk police pried open the door, the aid squad found Nelson in cardiac arrest on the floor, Cappola said. 
Between the first five and 10 minutes of being in the basement, Cappola said he felt nauseous and lightheaded. 
Huntington Manor Fire Chief Fred Steenson Jr. said emergency personnel did not take typical carbon monoxide precautions because the 911 call was for a woman who had fallen down. 
Cappola, who was later brought to Plainview Hospital, said he and other first responders don't typically wear a self-breathing apparatus or other safety equipment because it impedes their ability to deliver aid. 
On Sunday morning, other first responders who received treatment at hospitals said they had headaches and were at home resting, said Cappola. 
Third Assistant Chief Michael Bellis of the Greenlawn Fire Department said the department sent two ambulances to assist. 
Firefighters used a Rad-57 CO-Oximeter, a monitor that is affixed on the finger, to detect whether people were exposed to carbon monoxide. "If our monitors showed that they had any carbon monoxide readings then we were to transport them." 
The situation was unlike anything that Cappola has experienced in his 11-year service in the 250-member aid squad, which responded to 5,600 calls last year, he said. 
"It was actually fortunate that somebody found the [woman] . . . downstairs . . . and they discovered what the problem was before the gas seeped into the restaurant, because it could have been a catastrophe." 
With Sarah Armaghan and Jennifer Barrios

LISCEN24

Carbon monoxide first responders refused to abandon rescue effort, says squad captain

Whitman Mall cropped

An hour into their meal at Legal Sea Foods at the Walt Whitman Shops on Saturday evening, a waitress leaned over to Perri Mekalainas' table to say they needed to evacuate. 
At home in Syosset, Mekalainas and her 13-year-old son Christian collapsed when they later learned from the news that their favorite restaurant manager, Steven Nelson, arrived at Huntington Hospital in full cardiac arrest and died.
"My son's just devastated," she said Sunday. "He's been hysterically crying." 
Nelson often delivered off-menu items to Christian, whose life-threatening food-allergies made eating out impossible.
In interviews yesterday, those who knew and worked with Nelson described him as a diligent general manager -- a mentor even -- dedicated to his job in a grueling restaurant world. He worked hard to build camaraderie among employees: At Legal Sea Foods, he asked them to high-five each other before shifts, a bartender said.
"He was truly a genuine, caring individual, and we really thought of him as an angel here on Earth," Mekalainas said. "He really gave my son an opportunity to do something he wouldn't be able to do otherwise."
Nelson, 55, of Copiague, was locked in a bathroom in the basement of the Huntington Station eatery as carbon monoxide seeped from a leaky pipe in the water heater, Huntington Town officials said, filling the room.
Employees became concerned when they couldn't find him, Roger Berkowitz, the restaurant chain's chief executive told reporters.
Nelson spent decades in the restaurant industry, working at other chains such as Ruth's Chris Steak House and Applebee's.
Nearly two decades ago, he met Jeanine Camporine, 45, of Mountainside, N.J., at an Olive Garden, where he was a general manager. 
They worked together for about a year and stayed in touch. She often sought his opinions on her side business ventures.
"He really worked hard by setting an example," she said. "He was always very even keel."
Camporine, who left the restaurant industry about a decade ago, said he "taught me a lot how to treat people. I would work for him in a heartbeat."
John Restel, the Legal Sea Foods bartender, said Nelson was a jet-setter with a son in Japan. "He's been to Japan; he just got back from Israel," Restel, 26, said. 
At the restaurant, Nelson always had an uplifting spirit in the mornings, Restel said.
Last summer, Nelson took notes and sat with Mekalainas and Christian to discuss his allergies to foods made with dairy, eggs and peanuts.
Nelson and the staff made the family feel comfortable. Waitresses knew Christian by name.
"He treated Christian like he would've treated his own son," Mekalainas said.
The Mekalainas family dined there once or twice a month.
On Saturday, before they arrived to celebrate Mekalainas' mother's belated 90th birthday, they called in the afternoon to see if Nelson was working. He wasn't feeling well, a manager said; he was probably leaving early.With Sarah Armaghan

LINELS24

Manager Steven Nelson catered to customers' needs

licarb234 /

Installing carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings -- not currently required under current state building codes -- could save lives, medical and fire code experts said yesterday.
But officials who are helping to update New York's fire code said such a requirement could be a tough sell.
"It's the cost," said Jeff Wilkinson, president of the New York State Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association, which represents fire marshals and code enforcement officials. "You start driving up costs, builders start to complain."
Wilkinson said that with higher ceilings, it can be more expensive to wire commercial spaces such as malls for carbon monoxide detection, though he had no cost estimate. Walt Whitman Shops, next to the Legal Sea Foods restaurant in Huntington Station, where the general manager died Saturday, has carbon monoxide detectors, a mall spokesman said yesterday.
While the state does not mandate the detectors for commercial buildings, Huntington Town code requires them in hotels and nursing homes. 
Dr. Lindell K. Weaver, a medical director at two hospitals in Utah who has published papers on carbon monoxide poisoning and treats it, said there's no good reason for not having the detectors in homes and businesses.
"I think they should all have carbon monoxide alarms," Weaver said from a Salt Lake City hospital. 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year in the United States, more than 400 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning and 20,000 go to the emergency room.
Other estimates put those numbers higher. Papers in the New England Journal of Medicine and other medical publications estimate 50,000 people a year go to the emergency room with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Michael Gross, senior vice president at Huntington Hospital, said Sunday he thinks the logical step now would be for restaurants to have carbon monoxide detectors so that this does not occur again.
"This is completely preventable, and carbon monoxide detectors are accurate and inexpensive," he said. He said Saturday's carbon monoxide leak at Legal Sea Foods was unusual. 
Mitchell Pally, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute, said he doesn't know of a discussion to require carbon monoxide detectors in commercial buildings in New York.
In New York, carbon monoxide alarms are required in houses under a 2009 law. 
State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens said while the state has discussed mandating commercial detectors, the focus has been on the residential side. 
Battery-operated detectors can be purchased for about $20, though Weaver recommends one with a digital readout that would show a rise in carbon monoxide levels before they become dangerous.
But wiring houses or buildings for carbon monoxide detection can be much more expensive, said Doc Mitchell, a forensic construction expert. He said he spent $1,200 to wire his house for carbon monoxide detection.
With Tania Lopez

Business

LIFUME24

Officials: Commercial CO detectors costly, but could save lives

A faulty flue pipe in the heating system caused the carbon monoxide poisoning in a Huntington Station chain eatery that left the restaurant's manager dead and more than two dozen employees and rescue workers sickened over the weekend, town officials said Sunday. 
The lethal, odorless gas built up in the basement of the Legal Sea Foods restaurant at the Walt Whitman Shops mall after the pipe, which is supposed to vent gas coming from one of the water heaters to the outside, failed, Huntington Town chief fire marshal Terence McNally said Sunday. 
The gas levels were "extremely high" by the time rescue workers got to the restaurant shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, Huntington Manor Fire Department Chief Fred Steenson Jr. said. 
"Normal levels should be at zero. There shouldn't be any carbon monoxide anywhere," Steenson said. "On a scale from one to 10, it was probably nine and a half." 
At that level, Steenson said, it could take as little as five minutes for a person to pass out. 
The restaurant's general manager, Steven Nelson, 55, of Copiague, was discovered unconscious in the basement of the eatery, locked in a bathroom, said Legal Sea Foods president and chief executive Roger Berkowitz, who traveled to the Huntington Station location on Sunday. 
Nelson was taken to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Suffolk County police said. 
The restaurant's associate general manager, Megan Smith, had gone down to the basement to find Nelson, but may have fallen down the steps and collapsed in the gas-filled room, Berkowitz said. 
Huntington Community First Aid Squad responders found Smith unconscious on the basement floor. 
"When Megan apparently passed out, there was just an effort to get her out," Berkowitz said. "Right before that, she was saying, 'Where's Steve? Is Steve all right?' " 
Smith also was taken to Huntington Hospital, where she was held for evaluation overnight. She was released Sunday afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. 
Smith declined to comment, instead releasing a statement through her family that said she appreciated "everyone's prayers and concerns." 
Ultimately, more than two dozen people -- mostly restaurant employees and rescue personnel -- were taken to five hospitals for treatment, police said. 
McNally said the town discovered the failure in the flue pipe of one of the restaurant's water heaters Saturday night and issued the establishment a summons for defective heating equipment. 
The restaurant had passed its last town inspection, in March 2013, and was due for another one at the end of next month, he said. The flue pipe would have been examined during the inspection, McNally said. 
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also opened an investigation Sunday night into the event, according to regional director of public affairs Ted Fitzgerald. 
"As this inspection involves a death, it could take some time," he said. 
While there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the restaurant, they are not required by state or town code, town officials said. 
Walt Whitman Shops spokesman Kevin Ryan said Sunday that the heating system at Legal Sea Foods was separate from that of the mall, and that there was never a threat to shoppers. 
Ryan also said there are carbon monoxide detectors installed throughout the mall. 
Town spokesman A.J. Carter said the code only requires the detectors be installed in residences and in places where people sleep, such as hotels and nursing homes. 
Berkowitz, who expressed sorrow over Nelson's death and called it "a terrible wake-up call," vowed Sunday to install carbon-monoxide detectors in each of his 32 restaurants on the East Coast. He also brought in grief counselors to talk with employees and their families. 
Yellow placards on the doors of both the Legal Sea Foods and neighboring Panera Bread restaurants at the mall declared them condemned and "unsafe and unfit for human habitation." 
National Grid turned off gas service to both popular restaurants, which share a common gas line, Carter said. 
Legal Sea Foods must fix its faulty heating system and have it inspected by the town before the restaurant can reopen, Carter said. 
Panera Bread, which also must undergo a town inspection, could reopen as early as Monday, Carter said. 
The shades were drawn on the windows of Legal Sea Foods Sunday afternoon, but workers could be seen inside cleaning up the plates of half-eaten fish and French fries, and glasses of wine and soft drinks that diners left in their rush from the building during the evacuation. 
Another neighboring restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory, also had been evacuated, but was open again by Sunday morning. 
Huntington resident Mary Ellen Donnelly was concerned about the leak, but ultimately decided to have breakfast at that restaurant. 
"I figured it would not be open if it hasn't been cleared," Donnelly said. 
With Lauren R. Harrison 
and Tania Lopez

LICARB24

Officials: Flue pipe malfunction led to restaurant death

A man died and 27 others were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning after an apparent leak Saturday night in the basement of a restaurant at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, police said.
Suffolk police, fire crews and medics rushed to the mall shortly after 6 p.m.
The first report was that a female employee had fallen in the basement of the Legal Sea Foods restaurant, Suffolk police Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said.
"When rescue personnel arrived, they started to feel lightheaded and nauseous," and they quickly realized they were dealing with carbon monoxide fumes, he said.
The man who died was identified by police as Steven Nelson, 55, general manager of Legal Sea Foods. He was found in the basement, overcome by fumes, authorities said.
None of the other victims, including the unidentified female employee, suffered life-threatening injuries, Fitzpatrick said.
Legal Sea Foods was evacuated and two neighboring restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory and Panera Bread, also were cleared as a precaution, police said.
Victims, including four ambulance workers and three police officers, were sent to five area hospitals, Fitzpatrick said. The majority of the other 21 victims were Legal Sea Foods employees, he said.
Authorities are investigating whether the heating system in the basement was the source of the leak. Fitzpatrick said the exposure appeared to be confined to the basement and dining areas were not affected.
Nelson arrived at Huntington Hospital in full cardiac arrest and later died, said Julie Robinson-Tingue, a hospital spokeswoman.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Nelson has managed Legal Sea Foods since May 2010. He previously held similar positions at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and an Olive Garden, and owned and operated a restaurant and catering enterprise for nine years, starting in 1981. 
A 1980 graduate from Stony Brook University, Nelson listed his interests as body building and fitness training, and sports ranging from baseball to skiing.
Medical examiners are determining the cause of death, but carbon monoxide poisoning is a "logical conclusion," Fitzpatrick said.
At the bustling mall, yellow tape closed off the evacuated restaurants Saturday night.
Jose Blanco, 20, a line cook at The Cheesecake Factory, said the staff and customers were suddenly ordered to evacuate.
"Out of nowhere . . . they told us to get out," he said.
Kathy Sella, 48, of Seaford, and Ashley Harper, 22, of Bay Shore, were seated in the restaurant's bar area when they were told to get out.
"The lights went on, and we were told to evacuate," Sella said. "They said, 'You have to leave.' "
She described what followed as a "mad rush" by people to get outside.
Inside the mall, shoppers seemed unfazed, casually strolling through shops as if nothing was amiss.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause illness and death. The gas is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by cars and trucks, small gasoline engines, stoves and heating systems, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. High levels of inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death, the CDC said.
With Joan Gralla

LICARB23

Cops: 1 dead after carbon monoxide leak at Walt Whitman Shops

liFATAL cropped

Complete coverage: Carbon monoxide leak at LI mall

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NewsdayTV's Doug Geed takes us out to East Hampton, where an old farm turned arts center hosts community events.

Out East: Duck Creek Arts Center

The consequences depend less on the alleged crime than on the county where police make the arrest. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.

Women arrested at illicit spas in Nassau risk deportation, but not in Suffolk

NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa visits Macchiato Espresso Bar in Mattituck to learn the art of the latte.

LI Works: Whole latte love goes into this art

Stretches of forest are turning into lifeless tree trunks, known as ghost forests, as salt water intrusion destroys the soil. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie has more.

Climate change creating ‘ghost forests’ on Long Island 

NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano tries a Hyrox fitness class at Black Bear Athletics in West Babylon.

Why Hyrox is trending on Long Island

Matthew Smith sentenced to up to 22 years in prison for drunken-driving crash that killed Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie has more.

Man who drove drunk and killed Nassau police officer gets up to 22 years in prison

From pizza to clams, Newsday food writer Andi Berlin visits two restaurants that are on the way to Northwell at Jones Beach Theater.

Eats en route to Jones Beach

Former Holy Trinity lineman Lance Swift spoke with Newsday high school sports reporter Jared Valluzzi after the Titans suspended their football program.

Former Holy Trinity lineman reflects on football program suspension

<a href="https://www.newsday.com/video/newsdaytv-top-stories">Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories</a>

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A Newsday review of court records sheds new light on ICE's Long Island operation and where it's happening. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa, Shari Einhorn, investigative reporter Josefa Velásquez and attorney Reuben Kerben break it down.

'The strategy that I'm seeing ... is very chaotic'

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