The Deutsche Bank building racked up more safety violations with a small electrical fire last week and a sparking elevator this week.
Demolition work in the building remained stopped as of Wednesday evening because of the second incident, involving a defective exterior elevator, known as a hoist. The hoist started sparking on Tuesday, possibly because of the snowy weather, according to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which owns the building. When workers tried to turn the hoist back on on Wednesday morning, it began sparking again, and the city shut down the project, the L.M.D.C. said in an e-mailed update Wednesday afternoon.
A violation on the Dept. of Buildings Web site mentions inadequate drainage in the hoist pit, which also could be part of the problem.
The other recent incident at Deutsche Bank building was a small electrical fire in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floors, which occurred Thurs., Feb. 11 when a power cable short-circuited, according to the D.O.B.’s Web site. A fire guard in the building noticed sparks and smoke and immediately put it out, said Errol Cockfield, spokesperson for the L.M.D.C.
These latest accidents came two weeks after the L.M.D.C. wrote a letter to contractor Bovis Lend Lease, expressing concerns about safety on the project and asking Bovis to make management changes. Bovis has not made changes yet.
Bovis and the L.M.D.C. previously overhauled safety at the building after a 2007 fire there killed two firefighters. The Deutsche Bank building, which was damaged on 9/11, is now down to 21 stories and Bovis expects to finish demolishing it by the end of the year.
— Julie Shapiro
