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City Halts "Immediately Hazardous" Work At Luxury LES Extell Tower
By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 25, 2016
Modified Feb 25, 2016
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Gothamist
By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 25, 2016
Modified Feb 25, 2016
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Construction at One "One Percent" Manhattan Square—a forthcoming luxury condominium on the Lower East Side that has replaced the neighborhood's main supermarket—reportedly ground to a halt last week after the Department of Buildings issued a stop work order.
The DOB observed on January 14th that construction work at the 240 South Street site was causing "movement" at adjoining buildings, according to the department's website. The inspection stemmed from a January 7th complaint from a resident at nearby 286 South Street, who said that her walls were cracking—a complaint that has been leveraged by many neighbors at local community board meetings since the summer.
Another stop work order was issued last June, soon after neighbors realized that their eyes were not deceiving them, and that nearby Cherry Street had in fact sunk several inches since the developer began construction. Along the block, Extell’s construction workers installed shoring braces to hold up the street and poured asphalt to level the cracking pavement. The work ban was lifted in less than a week.
A DOB spokesman confirmed today that the more recent stop work order—technically a partial stop work order on all underpinning work on the back side of the building—was issued on January 15th. Extell and its construction manager Lend Lease apparently continued working regardless, ceasing operations only when the DOB showed up for a follow-up inspection on February 17th.
Lend Lease confirmed in a statement to the Real Deal that it was "working with the project consultants to provide the Department of Buildings with documentation requested related to this matter.”
The controversial tower—soon to be equipped with a cigar room, golf simulation room, turkish baths, and other neighborhood-friendly amenities—is planned to rise 800 feet, casting a long shadow over the FDR Drive and nearby Rutgers Houses. Condominiums are slotted to sell for at least $1 million each, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2019.
UPDATE: This piece has been updated with additional information from the DOB. A spokesman for the department confirmed on Thursday that the stop work order is partial, against all underpinning work on the back of the building.
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