Shady building in Manhattan

From the NY Post:

Just when construction started gearing up on the long-stalled Harry Macklowe tower on the former Drake Hotel land between East 56th and 57th streets and Park Avenue, the site was slapped with a Partial Stop Work Order.

According to notes by the city’s Building Dept., excavation work began without the agency being notified and without securing a neighboring property, which reported a problem with an elevator pitwall on Tuesday.

The site received two violations and a Partial Stop Work Order was issued Oct. 5.

Last week, visitors and doormen in the lobby of the adjacent 450 Park Ave. were rattled by noisy jackhammers as work started in earnest on the site now owned by CIM Group and being developed in conjunction with Macklowe, who was the previous owner.

The Post’s Steve Cuozzo reported on Oct. 4 that jeweler Bucellati, a tenant in one of the East 57th Street townhouses, was finally moving out. This leaves just the townhouse owned by Jacob the Jeweler as the lone holdout for the development’s front door.

Reps for Macklowe and CIM declined comment.