Public Review of Significant Changes to West 70th Street Condo Project
Wednesday, July 20, 7:00 pm
Community Board 7, 250 West 87th Street (2nd Floor)
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Sole agenda item: an application by Congregation Shearith Israel to the NYC Board of Standards & Appeals (BSA) for what it claims is a “minor amendment” to 8-year-old plans for a non-compliant 9-story building, including 5 floors of luxury condos, on the predominantly brownstone mid-block of West 70th Street (adjacent to the Shearith Israel Individual Landmark in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District).
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The changes to the already out-of-scale proposal are far from “minor”. Moreover, the involvement of lobbyist and de Blasio donor Capalino + Co. underscores the need for close scrutiny of Shearith Israel’s so-called “hardship” argument.
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Please join us for a hard look on July 20!
In 2008, Congregation Shearith Israel received BSA approval for zoning variances (including height and rear-yard setbacks) to construct a building that far exceeds mid-block contextual zoning limits. Last year, LW! and neighbors discovered discrepancies in plans submitted to the Department of Buildings (DOB). This spring, our challenges finally compelled DOB to issue a stop-work order and the BSA to deny Shearith Israel’s request for a staff-level “letter of substantial compliance.”
Read recent coverage by David Dunlap in The New York Times
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New York Times columnist Christopher Gray called West 70th Street “A Block Full of Late-19th-Century Rowhouses”
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