City Misinterpreted Zoning Rules For UWS Tower: Report

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The city Department of Buildings admitted it made a mistake in its interpretation of zoning rules when approving building permits for one of the Upper West Side's tallest planned developments, but it may not help opponents defeat the building, according to reports.

A lawyer for the Department of Buildings sent a letter to the city Board of Standards and Appeals admitting that building permits approving the construction of a 668-foot tower on Amsterdam Avenue between West 69th and 70th Streets were granted due to an incorrect interpretation of the city's Zoning Resolution, the West Side Rag first reported. The letter was penned by Michael J. Zoltan, assistant general counsel for the DOB.

The Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, which has opposed 200 Amsterdam Ave. since it was proposed, is currently challenging the development in an appeal with the Board of Standards and Appeals. The appeal has the support of Upper West Side elected officials including City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal and Borough President Gale Brewer.

Frank E. Chaney, the lawyer representing The Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, told the West Side Rag that the DOB's admission a big win for the appeal.

"The DOB said, ‘You’re right, we were wrong,’ and agreed with every single argument we made. The importance of this decision cannot be overstated," Chaney told the West Side Rag. "This rarely happens that the DOB will acknowledge that they made a mistake."

Despite owning up to the mistake, the DOB maintains that building permits for 200 Amsterdam Ave. should not be revoked, the West Side Rag reported. When the zoning lot for 200 Amsterdam Ave. was created the city had not yet changed its interpretation of the Zoning Resolution, according to the DOB letter. It wasn't until after the lot was formed that the city ruled that partial tax lots could not make up a zoning lot.

Zoltan's letter argued that not applying the city's old interpretation of the zoning resolution to the lot for 200 Amsterdam would be "arbitrary and capricious."

The Board of Standards and Appeals will hold a public hearing for the appeal against 200 Amsterdam on Tuesday, March 27 at 10 a.m. The hearing will be held at 22 Reade St., located between Broadway and Lafayette Street.

Read the full West Side Rag story here.

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