Luxury Residential Towers in LES to Go Through NYC’s Land Use Review

By Pat Savage

Three luxury-apartment developments located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan will have to go through New York City’s land-use review procedure, a judge has ruled.

The ruling is considered by some to be a win for local legislators, who haven’t been in favor of the project, which would see 3,000 new apartments go up in the Two Bridges neighborhood.

The project got the thumbs up from the City Planning Commission last December, which said zoning laws – which some had raised as an objection — was not an obstacle.

Objections had been raised, and court action threatened, by Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilwoman Margaret Chin.

Last week, Judge Arthur Engoron of state Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Should the towers be built without the city’s full public-review process, he noted, “a community will be drastically altered without having had its proper say.”

“The towers are to be developed by JDS Development Group, Starrett Development and a joint venture between L+M Development Partners and CIM Group. City planning officials praised the project’s inclusion of about 700 rent-restricted apartments that would be enrolled in the city’s affordable housing program,” reported Crain’s New York Business. “City planning also said it extracted concessions from the developers that included $15 million for two playgrounds and a park and $40 million to upgrade the East Broadway subway station. But the City Council said the commission had overstepped its authority by declaring the towers required only “minor modifications” to the area’s zoning.”

“The council has for years said this project—which would totally transform the Two Bridges neighborhood—requires public review and ultimately City Council approval,” Johnson noted in an official statement after the ruling was announced. “We’re very grateful that the state Supreme Court agreed.”

A representative of New York City’s Law Department said in a statement, “We are disappointed by the court’s ruling impacting a project expected to add hundreds of affordable housing units and improve transit infrastructure for the community.”

A statement from the developers said, “Needless to say, we disagree with the court’s ruling, as these projects were lawfully approved and met all legal requirements. They were proposed after years of community consultation, public review and environmental analysis, and in compliance with zoning that’s been in place for more than 30 years.”