The landlord at 137 Grand has applied for a new Certificate of Occupancy with NYC Dept of Buildings to convert floors 1 through 6 to commercial, leaving only the 7th zoned as work-live.

This application for a new CO comes on the heels of lawsuit won by the 7th floor tenant to take advantage of the recent window of eligibility for tenants to compel landlords to convert zoning and bring a building up to residential code. Residential code is more expensive than commercial and as expected, landlords try to avoid being required to convert. All of this sets the stage for a new round of inspections at 137 Grand, hence the new round of work.

Tight quarters, but we’re making due. So far. We’ll see how the sheetrock and plaster dust treats the computer equipment as work progresses to the back half of the office where the server closets and HVAC intakes are.

And in a funny twist to the story, this is the same construction crew that brought us this little incident way back on July 21, 2006.

As if we wouldn’t notice…