Demolition Permits Filed For Remainder Of Controversial UWS Hotel

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A trio of demolition permits were filed with the city on Wednesday for the remaining ground floors of the controversial Marrakech Hotel site at 2686, 2688, and 2690 Broadway on the Upper West Side.

The second to fifth floors of the property at 103rd Street and Broadway were demolished over the past year and a half, effectively eliminating the Marrakech Hotel from existence.

The demolition of the building came after a lawsuit filed in 2017 by the city sought to force owner Hank Freid to cease operations at the hotel due to the city's claim that renting rooms to tourists violated the 2010 Multiple Dwelling Law requiring buildings with a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) classification to be used for permanent housing only.

The court battle dragged on for years, before Freid eventually settled with the city, agreeing to end all non-permanent occupancy at the location and paying the city $274,000.

Not soon after the settlement, Freid sold the Upper West Side property to the Toll Brothers construction company in August 2019 for $44 million, according to The Real Deal.

Since the sale and demolition of the second to fifth floors at 2686, 2688, and 2690 Broadway, the scaffolding and construction equipment has blighted the 103rd Street block.

All three of the demolition permits filed Wednesday call for the removal of one-story structures at the addresses. A scaffolding shed has completely covered those structures for the past year and a half.

It is unclear when the demolition of the remaining structures will take place or what plans the Toll Brothers have for the property. There is not a new building permit for the location.