LIC rooftop farm hit with stop-work order

The rooftop farm that got its first soil last week above an industrial building in Long Island City was issued a stop-work order by the city’s Department of Buildings this past Friday afternoon because the for-profit Brooklyn Grange organization had not secured the necessary permits and engineering plans for the project. The city said an inspection is needed to determine whether the Standard Motor Products building at 37-18 Northern Boulevard could support an eight-inch layer of soil weighing nearly one million pounds — more when wet and filled with vegetables. The building, whose rooftop farm would be the city’s largest at 40,000 square feet, already has a stop-work order posted on its front door for interior work. Brooklyn Grange farmer Ben Flanner said the group plans to file the missing paperwork tomorrow morning. [NYT]