Borough President Wants 200 Amsterdam Building Permits Revoked

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side skyscraper is under construction despite a recent legal ruling that it may violate the city's zoning code, and now the Manhattan borough president is calling on the city to revoke its permits.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer asked acting Department of Buildings Commissioner Thomas Fariello to immediately rescind building permits for the planned 668-foot apartment tower at 200 Amsterdam Ave., according to an April 3 letter. The tower, developed by SJP Properties, was the tallest planned building in the neighborhood when it was first announced.

State Supreme Court Justice W. Franc Perry ruled in March to vacate a 2018 city Board of Standards and Appeals ruling that favored developers SJP Properties in a challenge brought by Upper West Side preservation groups. In the weeks following the ruling, construction at 200 Amsterdam has not stopped.

"The Supreme Court’s decision should have led to an immediate halt in the construction of 200 Amsterdam Avenue but work on the site continues today," Brewer said in a statement. "Construction should not continue while there is still a viable challenge to this development."

Preservation groups the Municipal Arts Society and the Committee For Environmentally Sound Development filed for a temporary restraining order Tuesday that would halt construction, but were denied the order, the West Side Rag first reported.

Opponents of 200 Amsterdam Avenue have argued that its "gerrymandered" zoning lot — which stretches far beyond the building site — violates the city's zoning codes. The legal challenge led by the Municipal Arts Society and the Committee For Environmentally Sound Development gained support from other preservation groups and local politicians such as Brewer and local City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal.

A spokesperson for SJP Properties said in March that the development firm "followed the law completely and continues to make construction progress," on 200 Amsterdam Avenue.

"200 Amsterdam's zoning permits were exhaustively reviewed by both the Department of Buildings and the BSA, the two city agencies with the primary responsibility for interpreting NYC's zoning codes. Following thorough analysis and public testimony, both agencies determined that the building fully conforms with the city's zoning laws," a March statement from the development firm reads.

When 200 Amsterdam Ave. was first proposed by SJP Properties it was set to become the tallest building on the Upper West Side. Extell Development's recently proposed 15 W. 65th St. — which would rise 775-feet-tall — has since taken that title. Neighborhood groups and politicians are also fighting that development, and a proposed city rule would limit its height.