Laurel construction accident damages neighboring school

The partially completed Laurel condominium was issued a stop-work order today after a piece of the building’s limestone facade fell from the 26th floor, damaging the roof of a neighboring school.

According to city Department of Buildings spokesperson Tony Sclafani, no one was injured in the accident, which occurred at 11:20 a.m. at the 30-story tower, located at 400 East 67th Street at First Avenue.

The Alexico Group-developed building was issued five Environmental Control Board violations, including one for failure to safeguard all persons and property and failure to protect roofs. Work on the exterior of the building cannot continue until the violations have been corrected, Sclafani said.

Sclafani would not confirm the name of the school or the extent of the damage to the roof.

A source intimately familiar with the situation said the accident occurred at the nearby school P.S. 183, the Robert Louis Stevenson elementary school, and that a piece of curtain wall fell
through the roof of the public school into a hallway. But, LuAnn Propper, the parent coordinator at the school, said the incident did not occur at P.S. 183.

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The Laurel suffered a tragedy in April. A window installer died in a nine-story fall at the condo after a nylon safety strap failed, causing the worker to fall from the 23rd floor to a 14th floor balcony. At the time, city officials said the building had been cited by city inspectors for 25 code violations during the year prior. 

The construction manager is the Hunter Roberts Construction Group, which is working on several projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Costas Kondylis & Partners designed the LEED-certified building. The building boasts a bi-level fitness center.

A spokesperson for Alexico, Jessica Saller, who is an associate vice president at Rubenstein Public Relations, said the developer had no comment. Alexico is behind a slew of projects including the Mark, 165 Charles Street by Richard Meier, and the Alex.

Curbed.com broke the news this morning when it received word about the “mishap” via a tipster.  

With additional reporting by Lauren Elkies

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