Borough President Sues To Force Review On UES NYCHA Development

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is suing the New York City Housing Authority and Mayor Bill de Blasio to force public review on a plan to build a 50-story private development on the site of a playground at the Upper East Side's Holmes Towers.

A lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, is asking a judge to nullify a Dec. 19, 2018 agreement between the New York City Housing Authority and developer Fetner Properties which leases the Holmes Towers site — located on East 93rd Street between First and York avenues — to Fetner for 99 years in exchange for $25 million, according to legal documents.

Brewer claims that Fetner's proposed 50-story development also violates zoning rules for the site and de Blasio's use of three mayoral zoning overrides "is an impermissible abuse of authority that usurps the role of the Borough President," according to the lawsuit.

"It’s undemocratic and unlawful. If this development undergoes ULURP, I’m confident the results would turn out even better for NYCHA than a plan cooked up behind closed doors and then merely announced as a fait accompli," Brewer said in a statement.

The lawsuit also seeks a temporary restraining order preventing any of the defendants from "any action in further of any construction related to the Holmes Towers Infill Development." Developer Fetner Properties was not named a defendant in the lawsuit

The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure would subject the project to review by the local Community Board, Borough President, City Planning Commission and City Council. Local representatives such as Community Board 8 and City Councilman Ben Kallos have joined residents in expressing concerns over the city and Fetner's plan for the site.

Critics of the plan have claimed that money the developers are committing to NYCHA repairs won't meet the need of the Holmes Tower development and that the troubled agency — which is currently negotiating a plan for greater federal oversight — can't be trusted to spend the money efficiently or responsibly. Opponents are also against the use of mayoral zoning overrides that will allow Fetner the ability to construct a building that does not conform with the zoning regulations for the site.

The tower — to be built by Fetner Properties — will rise 530 feet above East 92nd Street and will contain 339 apartment units, half of which will be offered at market rates and half of which will be offered at regulated below-market rates, according to building plans filed with the city.

Fetner will pay NYCHA $25 million up front for a 99-year ground lease at the site. All of the money will be used by NYCHA to fund repairs at the Holmes Towers, officials said.

"Fetner remains committed to delivering new affordable housing, open space, and a state-of-the-art recreational and community center, as well as new funds to support much-needed building and infrastructure repairs for NYCHA residents," a spokesman for Fetner Properties said in a statement.

NYCHA plans to request three mayoral zoning overrides to allow Fetner to construct a building that does not conform to the site's current zoning regulations, NYCHA's Director of New Construction Matthew Charney said during a January public hearing on the project.

Charney said in January that NYCHA has no plans to put the project through ULURP. The NYCHA executive said that the lengthy nature of the ULURP process would cut into the agency's timeline to begin construction on the new building and repairs to Holmes Towers this summer.

The three mayoral zoning overrides will allow Fetner to:

• Build an ADA-accessible ramp leading to an athletic field that would otherwise be too close to existing NYCHA buildings;
• Construct a tall structure that would otherwise violate the city's mandated "sky exposure plane" — a regulation to set back buildings in order to ensure light and air at street level in dense zoning districts;
• Build 2.3 percent less open space on the lot than required for the maximum amount of residential development density allowed for the site's zoning district.

"We are using every tool in our arsenal to reverse decades of federal divestment in NYCHA. This project will raise $25 million in critical repairs for Holmes Residents and create new, affordable housing on the Upper East Side," City Hall spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie said in a statement.

Read a notice of petition for the borough president's lawsuit below: