Secretive Plans for East Side Property Soon to Come to Light
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

A city review process that will unveil plans for the largest parcel of undeveloped land in Manhattan owned by a single developer is expected to begin in the coming months. The uniform land use review procedure will shed light on development plans for a 9.2-acre site on the East Side, which community groups say have been shrouded in secrecy.
Sheldon Solow, who is buying from Con Edison the parcel that stretches from 35th to 41st streets along the East River, is preparing to submit his proposal to the Department of City Planning, sources, who have spoken with Mr. Solow, told The New York Sun.
The site is more than half the size of ground zero and dwarfs the site of the proposed West Side sports stadium, yet the East Side development has been eclipsed by those behemoth city projects. Calls to Mr. Solow’s office and to his lawyer, Sandy Lindenbaum, were not returned.
The state’s Public Service Commission, which oversees utilities, approved the Con Ed sale in May. The utility sold the parcel, which includes a defunct generating station between 35th and 36th Streets, a parking lot between 39th and 40th, a waterside steam station between 38th and 40th, and a former office site between 40th and 41st, saying it was uneconomical. It is transferring the generating operation to an expanded power plant on 14th Street.
According to public documents, the sale has a base price of $300 million and could be worth more than $600 million, contingent on rezoning. In addition, if zoning is not approved for a floor-area ratio of more than 10.5, then either party can back out of the deal. The site is currently zoned for manufacturing, with an FAR of 6.
As part of Ulurp, as the review process is known, the developer will seek to rezone the area for commercial use and raise the height limits. The zone change would allow Mr. Solow to build luxury apartment buildings as well as office space.
The proposal will be submitted to Community Board 6, the borough president, the city Planning Commission, and the City Council for review.
A formal plan has not yet been made final, but Mr. Solow’s team has been meeting with the Department of City Planning over the past several weeks to hammer out details.
“There are a bunch of things they need to do, including a rezoning, a text amendment, and a special parking permit, among other site planning issues,” said the spokeswoman for City Planning, Rachaele Raynoff.
“We have discussed it with them, and it is up to them when they will file the paperwork,” she said.
Mr. Solow had originally been a partner with the Fisher Brothers on the site. Following the untimely death of Tony Fisher last year, Mr. Solow bought out his partner and is now operating under the name of East River Realty as principal developer.
As part of Con Ed’s sale to Mr. Solow, an environmental impact statement was drawn up that outlined plans for the site. Community groups have complained that the statement was faulty and generic and failed to address community concerns. The groups have voiced plans to sue the state to try to stop the sale, although sources say this is unlikely.
“The EIS made ridiculous assumptions, like an FAR of 12 wouldn’t have any more impact on the neighborhood than an FAR of 6, despite the fact there is a huge difference in scale,” said the head of Community Board 6’s land use committee, Charles Buchwald. The community board and other community groups hope the Ulurp will force Mr. Solow to develop a site-specific impact statement that can stem their fears.
“Our concern is that the developer is meeting with City Planning, but they are not meeting with the community,” said the state senator who represents the neighborhood, Liz Krueger. “This is a the last remaining 9 acres of open space available on the East River, and I find it amazing that more people are not paying attention to its fate.”
Other elected officials who are cautiously watching the project include Assemblyman Steve Sanders and City Council Member Margarita Lopez.
“I believe this will be one of the biggest development fights to take place in the city,” Mr. Sanders said. “It is imperative that the community has a say so we can minimize the number of high-rises that will crowd out our parks and create congestion.”