More bs.
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Neighbors sue to block Extell’s UWS tower after city OKs amended plans
The back-and-forth over Extell Development’s 770-foot Upper West Side tower is now headed to court.
Weeks after the Department of Buildings renewed permits for the development at 50 West 66th Street, the City Club of New York — which nearly killed Barry Diller’s Pier 55 project— and several of the project’s neighbors have filed a lawsuit against the developer, seeking to halt construction due to alleged zoning violations.
“Plaintiffs need immediate relief because Defendants’ construction has reached a stage where arguments about vested rights and potential mootness are looming,” the lawsuit states. “Even where courts have ultimately found that a building violates zoning, they have proven reluctant to order demolition.”
The lawsuit alleges two major violations at the development. First, the building contains massive structural voids that allow Extell to build higher and pricier penthouses without adding residential space. Though current zoning rules do not contain any limitation on the height of a building’s mechanical floors, officials are looking to close this loophole by counting “unusually large” mechanical spaces toward a building’s height limit.
In January, the DOB announced its intent to revoke Extell’s permits if zoning issues were not addressed. It now appears that they have been, as far as the city is concerned.