Controversial UWS Development Gets New Renderings: Reports

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — New renderings released this week provide a closer look at one of the Upper West Side's most controversial developments. The new images for SJP Properties' 200 Amsterdam Avenue were revealed by New York YIMBY.

The renderings provide a close-up look at the base and crown of 200 Amsterdam Avenue, which is set to rise 668 feet on Amsterdam Avenue between West 69th and 70th Streets, YIMBY reported.

YIMBY described 200 Amsterdam Avenue's architectural details as "something contemporary that will nevertheless do a far better job of emulating Art Deco and traditional architecture than much of the surrounding neighborhood that is already built."

But groups of Upper West Siders don't share that same enthusiasm. The Committee for Environmentally Sound Development — a group supported by City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal — has submitted an appeal to the city Board of Standards and Appeals to revoke building permits for 200 Amsterdam. The group previously challenged the development by issuing a zoning challenge with the Department of Buildings.

The appeal accuses developers of gerrymandering 200 Asmerdam's zoning lot to obtain out-of-scale building rights. The 200 Amsterdam lot is combined with parts of five other tax lots, which should violate a Zoning Resolution condition determining what makes an appropriate zoning lot.

The DOB had halted construction on 200 Amsterdam for three months while conducting an internal audit into the development and reviewing the zoning challenge, but eventually gave developers the green light to continue building.

At the time it was proposed, the Amsterdam Avenue tower was the tallest planned development on the Upper West Side. That distinction now belongs to Extell Development's tower that will rise 775 feet on West 66th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.

View the renderings at New York YIMBY.

Photo by Google Maps street view