MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — Just weeks after a near-disaster at the old Pfizer building in Midtown, the Department of Buildings issued another full stop-work order for a high-rise construction job in Lower Manhattan.

The DOB issued the order last week for another office space-to-residential housing project at 222 Broadway, which is just south of City Hall. The order was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

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A spokesperson for the department said two concrete beams on the 32nd floor had developed cracks weeks ago and that the contractors and engineers did not notify officials of the problem when it happened.

The contractor, Leeding Builders Group LLC, could not immediately be reached for comment on the allegations.

The spokesperson said construction contractors did say something during the department’s initial inspection on July 11 and had already supported the beams with through rods and steel plates encasing the beam.

The DOB issued a partial work stoppage order as a result of the alleged shaky handling of the situation.

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On Thursday, inspectors returned to 222 Broadway for a follow-up and asked for a complete package of engineering reports with more information on how exactly the cracks appeared on the beams.

The department spokesperson said inspectors did not observe any conditions that would warrant a vacate order, but did upgrade the partial stoppage to a full work stop order until more documentation was provided.

On Friday, the engineering firm in charge of construction, DeSimone, handed over the requested documents, according to the DOB.

Those documents are currently being reviewed and the work stop order won’t be lifted until the DOB is “fully confident that it is safe to continue construction operations.”

According to the contractor’s website, 222 Broadway is being converted from office space to roughly 800 apartments.

Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.

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