TRUMP SOHO SO CURSED-‘JUST ONE DISASTER AFTER ANOTHER’
The Buildings Department issued a stop-work order against contractor Bovis Lend Lease and cited the company for not securing a chain used to hoist windows. Apparently, according to the Daily News, gusts of wind up to 50 MPH were responsible for causing loose chains to crash into the side of the Trump SoHo tower-showering glass to the streets below and cracking windows, neighborhood residents remarked. Buildings Department spokeswoman, Kate Lindquist, indicated that in addition to the falling glass approximately a dozen windows were cracked and others were removed as a precautionary measure.
Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Andrew Berman said that the SoHo project has been one disaster after another. This isn’t the first problem for the Trump project, which was cited for several building code violations after a worker fell 42 stories to his death in a new york construction accident back in January.
The winds caused general chaos on several building projects within the city when the Department cautioned and closed down several projects that posed a threat to the public. Seventy-five percent of the timber and plywood formwork located on the roof of a fifteen story West Village condominium building collapsed, according the Department’s spokeswoman, Kate Lindquist.
In another stop-work order the Buildings Department levied against the Superior Ink project, citing the contractor, Plaza Construction, for failing to protect the public. Conditions were apparently so hazardous, according to the News story that even residents of an adjacent building were evacuated.
Surprisingly, portions of midtown sidewalk roofs that pedestrians use for walking collapsed, even though those tunnels are reported to withstand winds of up to 100 mph. The sidewalk shed’s contractor has been ordered to make repairs on the damages and the contractor, Everest Scaffolding, was cited with code violations.
According to the Buildings Department there were several other wind-related construction accidents to scaffolding and sidewalk sheds throughout the city, but a full listing of all damages was not available at this time.
As a New Yorker, you have a right to walk on the sidewalk without worry that parts of building or construction materials will fall on you. If you or a loved one has been injured through the negligence of another, please call our experienced New York Construction Accident attorneys at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, L.L.P., because we would like to meet with you. Please call our office at 212-986-7353 to set up an appointment to discuss your case today!
