Sutton Place Tower At Center Of Zoning Fight Begins Rise

SUTTON PLACE, NY — The planned skyscraper that played a central role in the resident-led rezoning of the small Sutton Place neighborhood on the East River has begun its rise, according to new reports.

Builders have already poured concrete for the first several floors at Gamma Real Estate's planned 800-foot tower at 430 E. 58th St., located between Sutton Place and First Avenue, New York YIMBY first reported. A construction crane has also been installed at the site, according to the report.

The City Council overwhelmingly passed a rezoning in November of 2017 to prevent super-tall developments from rising in the Sutton Place neighborhood that spans East 51st to 59th streets east of First Avenue. When the council passed the plan, it also struck a grandfather clause inserted by the City Planning Commission, which threatened Gamma Real Estate's development plans.

The city Board of Standards and Appeals later ruled that Gamma's project could circumvent newly-passed zoning rules for the Sutton Place neighborhood. The ruling resulted in an Article 78 lawsuit filed by the East River Fifties Alliance, which proposed the new zoning rules, and City Councilman Ben Kallos, who supported the rezoning.

New zoning regulations for Sutton Place implement the "tower-on-a-base" development rules in the neighborhood. The rules require that 45 percent of a new development's floor area be contained below a height of 150 feet. Buildings could still rise above 150 feet, but nearly half of the total density would be at heights that wouldn't be uncharacteristic of the existing neighborhood, according to the plan.

Read the New York YIMBY article and see photos of construction here.