BY ZACH WILLIAMS | A stop-work order remains in effect for a construction site at 210 Bowery where two hard hats were injured on Aug. 4.
Plans for the site called for an eight-story building with mixed commercial and residential use. The workers were digging for the concrete placement of an elevator pit that day when a brick wall collapsed, according to the Department of Buildings. They were able to escape but suffered minor injuries, according to a D.O.B. spokesperson, who added that a violation was issued as well as the stop-work order.
“After additional assessment, it was determined the structure was no longer structurally sound and would need to be demolished,” the spokesperson said.
Demolition work has continued in the past week with workers having removed the fourth story by last Fri., Aug. 7. Workers appeared to be putting the finishing touches on removing the second floor when a reporter observed the scene the following day.
Plans filed with D.O.B. were to have the building rise four stories from its previous four, increasing the structure’s total square footage by about 5,000 square feet from the previous 8,975, according to D.O.B. records. Acadia Realty Trust bought the building in 2013 for $7.5 million, local blog Bowery Boogie reported. A representative for the owner could not be reached for comment by press time.
Adjacent buildings, meanwhile, will have to remain vacant until the project site’s safety can be assured, according to D.O.B.
The accident’s timing delayed a pre-opening of the Andrew Edlin Gallery next door at 212 Bowery. Filmmaker Brent Green had been scheduled to perform a live rendition of a work inspired by his childhood. But those plans to informally open the new space were dashed as soon as organizers peered outside, Edlin said in an interview.
“We were down there setting up for the event and there were fire trucks out on the street,” he said of the moment he noticed the accident next door.
