Infamous UES Landlords Stymie Extell's Next Development: Report

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A pair of infamous landlords who own the last remaining building on a nearly vacant Upper East Side block are clinging stubbornly to their property, preventing a megadeveloper from building its next large project, according to reports.

Since 2014, the developer Extell has paid more than $77 million to acquire a series of buildings along First Avenue between East 85th and 86th streets, The Real Deal reported.

Following those acquisitions, Extell has moved to knock down the buildings one by one. It culminated earlier this month, when Extell filed permits to demolish the last three tenement-style walkups that it owns on the block, as Patch first reported.

But one property remains: 1645 First Ave., a mid-block building that is owned by Stuart and Jay Podolsky, The Real Deal reported.

In their decades owning property in Manhattan, the Podolsky brothers have attracted a reputation as "slumlords" for their violation-plagued buildings. In 1986, the brothers and their father were sentenced to probation after allegedly filling a building with prostitutes and drug dealers in an effort to drive out remaining tenants.

Most recently home to the Bronx Parent Housing Network Loving Arms Soup Kitchen, it now sits empty. Extell founder Gary Barnett told The Real Deal he had made hefty offers for the site, but was now pursuing alternative plans for his project after being rebuffed.

Extell, which kicked off the "Billionaire's Row" of supertall skyscrapers near Central Park South, has not announced any specific plans for the site.

The company's other Upper East Side projects include the full-block site a few blocks south at 1516-18 First Ave., which has sat largely empty since Extell began tearing down those buildings in 2018; The Lucida, a condominium building on East 85th Street; and The Kent, a condo tower on East 95th Street.

Read more at The Real Deal.

Previous coverage:

• More Demolitions Coming To Vacant UES Block As Development Looms
• Three More Buildings On Vacant UES Block To Be Demolished