Monday, Nov. 13 - Court Hearing to Stop Construction

THE PARK WEST VILLAGE TENANTS ASSOCIATION WENT TO COURT
to try to delay Gluck and Chetrit's proposed construction of a 30-story "spike" in the heart of the Park West Village community. (Or, as Gluck and Chetrit call it, the "former Park West Village".)

The case would establish the commencement date of the forty-year covenant that protects our “village in the park” from alteration. That period began when the last residential building in Park West was completed. A plumbers’ strike in 1966 prevented the occupancy of and therefore the legal ‘completion’ of that building for several months, and its Certificate of Occupancy was not issued until March of 1967. (Issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy is the contractually established definition of “completion”). PWV Acquisitions LLC contends that a ‘Temporary Certificate of Occupancy” issued earlier, when the building was only “95% complete”, suffices.

While success in this suit will only buy us a few months’ time, this time is vital. Extra time would give the PWVTA the chance to pursue the various defenses and protections under the law that it is currently working on to try to preserve the ratio of light and open space – with trees and lawns – to buildings.

The PWVTA hopes that people who are interested in the case and the situation will come to observe and show the court that the residents are actively concerned.