The incident happened at 932 Madison Avenue in Bushwick around 9:30 p.m.
Firefighters responded for emergency rescue after Bailey Slattery, who attends The New School, fell from the roof and got stuck in the shaft between the two buildings in a space about 18 to 20 inches wide. The tight squeeze may have saved her life by stopping her from a four-story freefall.
Lily Madsen, the victim's roommate, said that they were having a party before the woman went to the roof to smoke and somehow fell.
"There's a lot of blood coming from her head, and she definitely has a broken leg," she said. "And she had her neck hurt really badly."
Her boyfriend actually crawled into the shaft from a window to try and help, but he was unable to pry her loose.
The FDNY responded to the scene and rescued her within 45 minutes, with two firefighters lowering down the building shaft before using a rescue tool to lift her up and into a second-floor window. They first tried to break through the wall but eventually decided on the alternative plan.
Slattery, a student and aspiring actor, was rushed to Kings County Hospital in serious but stable condition.
In the building Tuesday, the superintendent posted signs banning any future use of the roof. Worse yet, Madsen says the landlord now wants to evict them.
"Like a double tragedy," she said. "It's a horrible thing. My friend is recovering, and now we have to find a new home. It's hard."