Render courtesy of Snøhetta
Watch our Appellate Division, First Department Appeal April 6th via YouTube
Watch interview about SUPERTALLS via French TV (catch LW! @ the 3:47 mark)
Learn about the foreign money funding this project.
Read full filing history below by expanding toggle.
TIMELINE OF FILED DOCUMENTS
This toggle offers links to documents filed. The most recent documents are on top and continue down to our history of objections. For the purposes of this list, we are LW! representing the community, and the Developer refers to the team of specialists working on behalf of Extell Development Inc. who controls the site at 50 West 66th Street. DOB refers to the Department of Buildings. BSA refers to the Board of Standards and Appeals.
On Tuesday, October 25, 2022 the Courts responded declining to hear our appeal. This decision moots any possibility of appeal from a BSA decision. Our default loss from a 2-2 tie decided January 28, 2020 becomes a final decision despite the legal appeals process which defer to the tie decision at every benchmark.
On Friday, March 11, 2022, LW! filed our reply. Our papers are available HERE.
On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, NYC Corporation Counsel filed its opposition papers for the Appellate Division, First Department. Their papers are available HERE.
On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, Extell filed its papers for the Appellate Division, First Department. Their papers are available HERE.
On Thursday, December 9, 2021, the Appellate Division accepted the appeal for oral arguments.
On Monday, December 6, 2021, LW! filed our appeal with the Appellate Division, available HERE.
LW! has its next filing due on Monday, October 18.
On Monday, September 27, 2020, Extell filed their response to our appeal, available HERE.
On Friday, September 24, 2021, the City filed their response to our appeal, available HERE.
On Tuesday May 4, 2021, LW! voiced our appeal before Justice Rakower. Read the transcript HERE.
On Wednesday, March 3, 2021, LW! filed their reply, available HERE.
On Wednesday, February 17, 2021, the Developer filed their response to our Article 78, available HERE.
On Tuesday, February 16, 2021, the City filed their response to our Article 78, available HERE.
On Monday, December 7th, 2020, LW! filed their Article 78, available HERE.
On Friday, November 6th, 2020, after more than NINE MONTHS, the BSA issued its written decision, available HERE.
On Tuesday, January 28th, 2020, the BSA voted 2-2 in a tie decision.
On Tuesday, January 14th, 2020, the Developer filed their response to LW! December 31st filing. These documents are Cover Sheet and Letter.
On Tuesday, December 31st, LW! filed their allowed maximum 10-page response to the Board of Standards and Appeals. These documents are HERE.
On Tuesday, December 3rd, LW! filed Supplemental Materials to the Board of Standards and Appeals. These documents are HERE.
On Wednesday, November 27th, 2019, the Developer filed their response to LW! November 6th, 2019 filing. These documents are HERE.
On Wednesday, November 6th, 2019, LW! filed our response to the DOB October 16, 2019 filing. These documents are HERE.
On Monday, November 4th, 2019, DOB filed Supplemental Materials to the Board of Standards and Appeals. These documents are Cover Sheet and Letter.
On Wednesday, October 16th, 2019, DOB filed their response to BSA Commission’s request of the Tuesday September 10 hearing. These documents are HERE.
On Tuesday, September 10th, 2019, the BSA ruled with decisions (HERE) pertaining to two Appeals against the Developer of 50 West 66th Street. At the same time, they re-opened the LW! Appeal previously closed on Tuesday August 6th. WATCH VIDEO.
On Wednesday, July 24th, 2019, the Developer filed a response to our May 13th 2019 filing. These documents are HERE.
On Monday, May 13th, 2019, LW! filed our SECOND Appeal of 50 West 66th Street with the Board of Standards and Appeals. These documents are HERE.
THE DOB’S Lifting of their “NOTICE INTENT TO REVOKE” constituted an agency’s Final Determination, once again leading LW! to the BSA.
After filing, the DOB initiated a Notice Intent to Revoke seeking clarity on the 161′ Mechanical Void in the middle of the building. This THIRD LOOK from the DOB halted our BSA Appeal, ultimately mooting it as the Developer pursued a re-design, unveiled April 4, 2019 in a revised ZD-1 Zoning Diagram.
On Wednesday, December 12, 2018 LW! filed our FIRST Appeal of 50 West 66th Street with the Board of Standards and Appeals. Read the Statement of Facts HERE.
On Monday September 10, 2018, LW! filed its DOB Challenge. Click for the Challenge and the Challenge Appendix.
THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY for the Public to have a say comes with the community-funded Department of Buildings (DOB) Challenge. This Challenge requests that the Department of Buildings revisit several factors they may or may not have considered before granting approval of the ZD-1 Zoning Diagram.
On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, the Developer filed its ZD-1 Zoning Diagram.
THE CLOCK BEGINS TICKING
After much speculation, the Developer released renderings in January 2019 reflecting their intention to build the tallest building on the island of Manhattan north of the Time Warner Center on an UWS side street. The development was self-proclaimed “as-of-right” which would mean the Community had no opportunity to comment in any public forum, be that before a City Agency or even the Community Board.
On Tuesday, October 24, 2017, the Developer filed its ORIGINAL ZD-1 Zoning Diagram. A relatively modest building for the context of the block, this did not seem unreasonable. The community did not see a need to challenge this proposed development and did not pursue a DOB Challenge at this time.
“A fascinating story about a Developer trying to squeeze a little bit more profit out of a piece of land at the expense of the neighbors.” -NY1’s Pat Kiernan has followed the fight at 50 W. 66th Street.
VIEW NY1’s SPECIAL REPORT on Zoning Loopholes and Mechanical Voids.
View Impact of 50 W. 66th St. SHADOWS: SUMMER AM / SUMMER PM / FALL Shadows.
Shadow studies by zoning expert George Janes.
History and previous posts:
View Architect’s Renderings of the proposed SKYLINE, the 65th Street Synagogue Entrance.
Extell initially filed plans in Nov. 2015 for an “as of right” 291-foot building.
They later switched this for new plans for a 775-foot Supertall tower.
The Dept. of Buildings rubberstamped the new plans without reading them to see that the astounding height was achieved by inserting approx. 200 feet of “mechanical void” space, abusing a loophole in the zoning resolution.
Design firm Snohetta has proposed a 39-story residential development of 775 feet–the equivalent of a 77-story midtown office tower– on the Central Park block of West 66th Street. If built according to plan, the through-block site will feature a shorter construction on the 65th Street side which will replace the former Jewish Guild for the Blind and house the relocated Congregation Habonim.
This site is a combination of several different parcels:
- 36, 38 and 40 West 66th Street: former residences turned office buildings in 1962, these were previously used for set props and storage by ABC. In 1982, a feasibility study was done for a previously proposed 38-story residential tower designed by Arthur May under A. Eugene Kohn of KPF for the Reliance Development Company. (Demolished 2017)
- 44 West 66th Street: the former Congregation Habonim Synagogue, by Stanley Prowler and Frank Faillance (1956-57, demolished 2017).
- 15 West 65th Street: Jewish Guild Healthcare Building aka Lighthouse Guild aka Estelle R. Newman City Center, by Matthew J. Warshauer (1971, demolished 2018).
plus the air rights from 56 West 66th Street, the individually landmarked, former First Battery Armory, by Horgan & Slattery (1900-03).
When The Real Deal first reported a sale on August 28, 2014, LW! began studies of what could be feasible on that site. Once reports of the acquisition of the synagogue site were confirmed, the available Floor Area Ratio (FAR) significantly increased. It was surprising, then, that permits filed in late November 2015 featured only a relatively modest 25-story residential development of approximately 250 feet. The developer’s current proposal is now more than three times as tall with 14 additional floors. In all, it will reportedly house 127 apartments.
The site straddles two zoning districts: the south side of the block falls within the R-8 zoning district, while the northern portion of the site is C4-7 which has an R-10 equivalent. This site is completely within the Lincoln Square Special Purpose District. There are no contextual zoning height limitations, and this development is being filed as-of-right, which means there are no requirements for community board input.
Manhattan Community Board 7 has issued a resolution pertaining to this development along with the proposed tower at 200 Amsterdam Avenue. Read the CB7 Resolution for Amending the Zoning Regulations to address oversight of tall buildings.
Read an additional statement on Central Dark
PAST Key Milestones:
12/7/2020, LW! files ARTICLE 78.
9/25/2020, Judge voids permits for 50 West 66th Street. DECISION.
1/28/2020, The Board of Standards and Appeals is tied 2-2 on LW!’s Appeal on this neighborhood-changing zoning issue. Despite the reality that every local official spoke out to revoke the building’s permits, in NYC a tie always goes to the developer. BSA Decision: “Not approval [of the Appeal] by effect of stalemate.”
Read through our blog updates below for more history on this critical zoning matter.
LW! loses Appeal
Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department rules against the community on 50 West 66th. The brief decision is HERE. The court upheld the May 6, 2021 decision by Justice Rakower. LW! has been following the development of 50...
Billionaire’s Cluster?
Silverstein Properties Buys, Holds, and Flips Following a competitive bidding war, and a July 2018 purchase with a 5-year sale/lease-back agreement with the Walt Disney Corporation, Silverstein Properties flips the ABC Columbus Avenue Campus for $930M without even...
“Shady Cash”
New York Post Journalist Jennifer Gould digs into the $127 million financing connections of 50 West 66th Street and another midtown development in her article "How Shady Kazakh Cash is Building NYC's Poshest Pads" and even throws at bit of shade at local "NIMBYS" in a...
LW is very APPEALing
New York is the Big Onion and we are pulling back it's many layers! After a pause, there is news to share on West 66th Street, and it won't make you cry one tear! The APPELLATE DIVISION COURT has accepted our APPEAL! Contray to...
LW’s Appellate Division Filing
LANDMARK WEST filed our Appellate Division Appeal on Monday, December 6, 2021. Documents are as follows: RECORD ON APPEAL: I of IX II of IX III of IX IV of IX V of IX VI of IX VII of IX VIII of IX IX of IX NOTE OF ISSUE APPELLANT'S BRIEF
Contact Information
Sean Khorsandi
Executive Director
LANDMARK WEST!
LandmarkWest@LandmarkWest.org
45 West 67th Street New York, NY 10023
212-496-8110
