The 1848 red-brick building has housed sex clubs and starred in movies including “Fatal Attraction”(Glenn Close’s character had an apartment here).

Earlier, Little Flatiron contained factory space — in 1892, a shoe manufacturer employed 175 workers on the premises — so the face-shield operation has returned the building to its roots, if only temporarily.

To hire factory workers quickly, Consortium enlisted the Meatpacking Business Improvement District, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Women in Hospitality United, among other organizations, to get the word out. Its goal was to recruit 90 people to work in staggered shifts, as part of a seven-day-a-week operation.

An online application asked candidates to check off boxes consenting to statements like: “I am willing and able to perform manual labor for an 8-hr work day.”

Over 250 people applied. The first hire was an F.I.T. student, Vladislava Bulatnikova, 23, who emigrated from Russia six years ago and is wrapping up a degree in advertising and marketing communications.

She had already lined up an internship at Consortium for after graduation but jumped at the chance to join the assembly line. “It’s an amazing opportunity to help the community,” Ms. Bulatnikova said.

On the job, she and other workers must observe social distancing, and then some. Upon arrival, they stash personal belongings, have their temperatures taken, slather on hand sanitizer, and don masks and gloves.