UWS Group Asks Judge To Block Development
A community group is asking a state judge to prevent the development corporation Extell from going through with its new project along the Upper West Side on grounds it violates a 12-year old design agreement about the land, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court.
Designs for the building at 80 Riverside Blvd., located in the Riverside South complex, include more glass than the original design guidelines permit, according to the suit, which was filed against Extell by the nonprofit organization Riverside South Planning Corporation. The suit further charges that Extell has not sought the planning corporation board's approval before its construction and it has not calculated the building's energy efficiency.
A spokesman for Extell said he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
Donald Trump originally owned the property, located between Eleventh Avenue and the Hudson River between West 59th and 72nd streets, and built several towers there in the early 1990s.
When he first purchased the land to create Riverside South, the local community was outraged and in order to secure community and government approval for his plan, Mr. Trump agreed to a series of binding design construction agreements in 1993. The agreement included a stipulation that if Mr. Trump sold the property, its new owners would also be subject to the design guidelines.
When Hudson Waterfront Associates purchased the land in 1994, it abided by the guidelines, the suit says. Extell then purchased the land from Hudson in 2005.
The development plan focuses on environmental sustainability and design criteria for buildings and open spaces.
