Park West Village - Old Contract

Click here for the original, old Park West Village capital grant contract.

Park West Village Redevelopment Plan

Click here for the original Park West Village Redevelopment Plan.

July 27 Rally After Wall Collapse - News Coverage

The Daily News has an editorial about the collapse. Back in May, the News found that there are many buildings with "cracked walls and shifting foundations" around the city, "thanks to work crews carelessly blasting and digging next door to occupied buildings whose residents have little trust that the city is protecting them." The News says that the DOB's 17 inspectors are not enough, given the amount of city-wide construction there is, and wonders if the DOB needs to rethink how it organizes complaints on its site; for instance, you can see violations by building site, but not by contractors.

Photograph of the site, taken on Thursday, directly across 97th Street at 65 West 96th Street, by Irving Polsky

Statement from Lois Hoffman, president of the Park West Village Tenants' Association:

“We want to thank Scott Stringer for taking a step toward returning sanity to this project today. If this development is completed as envisioned by Gluck and Chetrit, it will cut a well-planned, successful neighborhood in half with the second-longest, unbroken street wall along any avenue in Manhattan, and introduce other problems into the lives of thousands of area residents. Everything is off kilter – the scale of the development, the architecture, the marketing practices to potential commercial tenants, the disruptive manner and shoddy nature of the construction, the threat of exhaust pollution from the new building’s parking garage aimed right at nearby buildings, traffic and safety issues including a planned commercial loading berth putting 60-foot semis on 97th St. These mistakes will also hurt the commercial tenants who have already signed on, like Whole Foods, because they will be the public face of these problems for the local residents who are their potential customers.

“The mayor’s PLANYC 2030 for the future of New York says nothing about the relationship between planning, design and sustainability of communities. For the sake of all New York City residents, we call on Mayor Bloomberg, Dan Doctoroff and Amanda Burden to step in now and to start ensuring a meaningful planning process for so-called ‘as-of-right’ construction. Otherwise, this lack of meaningful planning will continue to crop up all over the city and will define our future.”

By Jen Chung in Real Estate
_________________________________________________________________

NY 1

	City Officials Investigate UWS Wall Collapse
A wall collapse last night on the Upper West Side is prompting city officials to look into safety issues surrounding a major construction project. NY1’s Gary Anthony Ramsey filed the following report. In the Park West Village apartment complex, blasting and the sound it makes isn't new. “You can't listen to the television, you can't listen to the radio, you have no life,” said a resident. “You have absolutely no life. [Because of the noise?] Yes." But for the first time since construction began here last year, there was something new for 288 families in Park West to deal with, being forced to leave their homes and not knowing when they could go back. They had to evacuate 784 Columbus Avenue Wednesday night after a retaining wall collapsed at the construction site next door, exposing their building's foundation. The tenants they've been worried for months about what the construction might be doing to their building. "When I go out to do my laundry I go back around the back and I look to see if there are any cracks or fissures in the concrete that might indicate instability in the building,” said another resident. Inspectors say blasting may have brought down the retaining wall, which was put up to protect the building. The Buildings Department ordered an immediate halt to work at the construction site except for what was needed to repair the wall, and issued violations to the builder, Gotham Construction Corporation. But this was not the first sign of trouble in this project to build a 30-story tower here as part of a complex of seven buildings “The first time we saw the plans, which was before they actually started digging, we said they’re were problems,” said Lois Hoffman of the PWV Tenants Association. “And we had people, engineers and so forth, looks at their plans and said they’re going too deep, it’s too close to the buildings.” Gotham construction released a statement which said in part, "We have all been conducting a complete investigation and are cooperating with all the agencies involved to assess and remedy the situation. While no one was hurt, we have been and will continue to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of nearby residents and workers.” But those words are of little comfort to the people who live here. They’re still concerned their fears could once again become a reality if safety issues they've brought up in the past aren't addressed now. - Gary Anthony Ramsay

Letter to Dept. of Buildings from Man.Borough Pres.

THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
SCOTT M. STRINGER
BOROUGH PRESIDENT
MUNICIPAL BUILDING v 1 CENTRE STREET v NEW YORK, NY 10007
PHONE (212) 669-8300 FAX (212) 669-4305
www.mbpo.org bp@manhat tanbp.org

Christopher Santulli
Manhattan Borough Commissioner
Department of Buildings
280 Broadway 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10007

Dear Borough Commissioner Santulli:

Thank you for all the work you have done related to the retaining wall collapse at 808 Columbus Avenue. The safety of the residents at 784 Columbus Avenue must be the primary focus of the city right now. Construction must not continue until the city and the community can be assured that the developers and contractors are prepared to construct a project of this magnitude in a safe manner.

However, even if these safety issues were to be satisfactorily resolved, I am concerned that the proposed development itself may not be legally permissible under our City’s laws. Specifically, the open space and density of the building, the number of parking spaces, the relocation of curb cuts, and the approval of a large retail establishment may violate the requirements of the New York City Zoning Resolution. I hereby request that the Department of Buildings (“Department”) revoke the reconsiderations granted to the developer of 808 Columbus Avenue, and revoke building permit #104464438 for the reasons listed below.

Open Space and Floor Area

To obtain the maximum density of a development such as this one a developer must follow the required open space ratio under Section 23-142 of the Zoning Resolution. Pursuant to Section 12-10 of the Zoning Resolution, such open space must “be accessible to and useable by all
persons occupying a dwelling unit or a rooming unit on the zoning lot.” This would include the residents of the existing Park West Village Buildings.

The developer sought a reconsideration on March 20, 2006 of the open space requirement, because the plans have rooftop open space on top of the commercial strip that will only be accessible to the new building, not to the rest of the residents of the zoning lot.

The Zoning Resolution does not permit this. Open space must be open to every dwelling unit on the zoning lot. If the open space is not open to every dwelling unit, it cannot be counted as open space. Therefore the developer does not meet the requirements of Section 23-142 and the floor area ratio and the height of the building is illegal.

Only the Board of Standards and Appeals and the City Planning Commission may waive requirements of the Zoning Resolution, and only under specific sets of circumstances and after a public review process.


Accessory Parking Spaces

The developer has also proposed to move 204 surface parking spaces from other parts of Park West Village into the proposed new building at 808 Columbus Avenue, along with 126 new residential parking spaces. The existing spaces are permitted as “grandfathered” uses, but the proposed new garage cannot contain these “grandfathered” spaces.

The developer sought a reconsideration in a letter to the DOB on March 20, 2006, to permit the relocation of these spaces. Section 11-111 of the Zoning Resolution requires that all new buildings be built under the requirements of the Zoning Resolution. Since a new building must comply with the Zoning Resolution, it cannot contain a non-conforming use. An accessory parking garage of 330 spaces at 808 Columbus Avenue can only be permitted by approval of a special permit by the City Planning Commision, which would require review through ULURP.

Curb Cuts

The developer has sought a reconsideration dated March 26, 2006 to allow the moving of curb cuts from Columbus Avenue to West 97th Street and West 100th Street. However, all three streets are “wide streets” as defined by the Zoning Resolution. The Zoning Resolution does not allow curb cuts on wide streets except by authorization of the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 13-533 of the zoning resolution.

While the Department may have the authority to move permitted curb cuts from one location to another location very nearby on the same street, it does not have the authority to permit entirely new curb cuts on a street that currently lacks them if such curb cuts require approval of the City Planning Commission. These curb cuts can only be permitted after public review and approval by the Commission.


Retail Establishment

Finally, the developer has leased space to Whole Foods. This establishment may not qualify as permitted use under Use Group 6, which is local retail. The proposed store is 56,000 square feet and typically will include many services other than just grocery shopping. Since these stores will draw a large amount of traffic and have a variety of services, it would be more appropriately defined as Use Group 10 as a variety store pursuant to §32-19 of the zoning resolution.

Use Group 10 is not permitted at the proposed development, which is in a residential zoning district with a C1-5 overlay. A store of this size would overwhelm the residential streets and is not appropriate and cannot be legally placed in this district.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, I request that the Department of Buildings revisit its reconsiderations for this project and revoke building permits. To permit these actions without public review through ULURP would circumvent our public review process and violate the City Charter. I would be willing to provide further rationale and documentation of the aforementioned concerns, and look forward to working with you to ensure that any future development at Park West Village conforms to our City’s laws.

Sincerely,


Scott M. Stringer
Manhattan Borough President

P.S. 163 Principal Ask for Safer 97th St. during & after construction

• The developer has planned a loading dock and parking garage entrance on 97th Street. The main entrance of our school is located on 97th Street east of Amsterdam Avenue. The loading dock and garage will create material safety issues and traffic congestion.
  

• We are greatly concerned that traffic in and out of proposed loading docks and parking garage, as well as traffic from a new through street or streets planned between 97th and 100th streets will endanger our children, many of whom walk to school by themselves unaccompanied by parents. Massive tractor trailers, 90 feet or more in length, will be moving about and backing up at all hours, placing our small children in jeopardy.
  

• School buses take our children to and from school at the beginning and end of each school day. The buses also take the children on school trips. The flow of traffic coming out of the Central Park Transverse creates what already is a heavily trafficked and congested condition on West 97th Street. Vehicles also stop at the Ryan Health Center on the side of 97th Street opposite to PS 163. In addition, every Friday, the street is inundated with Farmer's Market vehicles.
  

• The loading docks, if placed on West 97th Street, can be expected to create unsanitary conditions and health hazards adjacent to our school. Noise and air pollution from store ventilation systems also could adversely affect the health of our children.
  

• Construction work poses safety issues relating to noise and dust in the air during the school day, and to trucks and equipment on the street as our children walk past the construction sites.
  

• The PS 163 playground adjacent to the Amsterdam Avenue construction site already experiences high levels of construction-related noise while children are at play. Such activity makes the playground area unhealthful and presents particular problems for children who are asthmatic or experience other serious respiratory conditions.
  

The development is having a serious impact on our school. Accordingly, we ask that the following steps be taken:

• Of greatest importance, to keep our children safe and to avoid additional major congestion on West 97th Street, the developer should move the Whole Foods loading docks as well as the parking lot entrance to Columbus Avenue, a wide and by comparison not heavily trafficked street. Alternatively, the loading docks and parking lot entrance should be moved to significantly less trafficked West 100th Street.
  

• Noise dampers and scrubbers should be used to reduce ventilation system exhaust fumes.
  

• Our local police precinct, the developers, and the construction companies should work with PS 163 during construction to promote the safety of our children on their walk to and from school, and to minimize noise and dust in the air during the school day.
  

• School crossing guards should be posted at the four major intersections in the construction area before and after school. Traffic guards also should be posted as needed for evening school activities. The precinct should arrange to visit students in classrooms in the fall to discuss safely walking to and from school during the construction period.
  

• The children of PS 163 use the playground for recess from 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. during the school year. We ask that construction on the Amsterdam Avenue development site adjacent to the PS 163 playground be scheduled during hours that our children are inside the school or away from the school area.
  

• Work with Community Board Seven to identify alternatives to the new through road currently proposed behind the new buildings.
  

Thank you for your efforts on our behalf.

Sincerely,

Virginia Pepe, Ed.D.; Principal, PS 163
Jeri Krassner, Executive Board, PS 163 PTA
Janet N. Field, Parent Chairperson, School Safety Committee, PS 163 PTA

C:
Sheldon Fine, Chairperson Community Board Seven
Luis Reyes, Community Board Seven, Children and Youth Committee
Penny Ryan, District Manager, Community Board Seven
Roser Salavert, Ed.D, Community Superintendent, District 3
Glenis Pole, Director of School Safety
Elizabeth Small, Chairperson, CEC, District 3
PS. 163 PTA Executive Board
Lt. Kevin O’Connor, Park North Command
Paul Bunten, Ph.D., Assoc. A.I.A., A.S.I.D; Park West Village

PRESS CONFERENCE - FRIDAY, JULY 27

Borough President Stringer demanded that, before construction resumes, developer Gluck and Chetrit enter into a written agreement with neighborhood residents, elected officials, and Community Board 7 – a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) – committing the developer to changes in its operations. The MOU would spell out remedial measures addressing residents’ concerns about quality of life, and health
and safety issues.

“After 10 months of shoddy construction practices, hundreds of formal complaints to city agencies, and now the forced evacuation of hundreds of residents, the curtain must be brought down on this construction project,” said Borough President Stringer. “Park West Village is a model community of diverse New Yorkers, many of them longtime residents. We will not stand by as this private developer wreaks havoc on their lives. And we will not sacrifice the safety or quality of life of a single New Yorker to this construction.”

The Department of Buildings confirmed that “blasting operations conducted earlier [on Wednesday] may have led to the collapse” of the retaining wall. A portion of the foundation of 784 Columbus Avenue was exposed by the retaining wall collapse.

The Department of Buildings has issued violations for failure to protect the public to the developer, Gluck and Chitret, and to the project manager, Gotham Construction Corporation. Mayrich Construction Corporation, the foundation contractor, has been ordered to backfill the area that collapsed. “This is of grave concern because it may have been prevented,” said Congressman Charlie Rangel. “For months, I have joined other elected officials in calling for attention to be paid to the development and for the appropriate studies to be conducted to ensure the safety of area residents.”

Said City Councilmember Melissa Mark Viverito, “"The Council has been working to reform our city's building regulations, but what happened here on Wednesday demonstrates that we still have a long way to go. We're hoping to move forward in a proactive way to enact needed reforms that will ensure the safety of every New Yorker.”

Borough President Stringer is also asking the Buildings Department to consider revoking the building permit for the site based on the developer’s plans to restrict access to open space, the relocation of parking spaces without required public review and the relocation of curb cuts that would add dangerous driveways to a block where a school and a medical facility are located.

"It is crucial that all work be stopped immediately, except safety related work to secure the compromised area, everywhere within the three Gotham Construction areas near Park West Village,” said Senator Bill Perkins. “There should also be an immediate moratorium on the issuance of permits for self-certified projects while this situation is under investigation, to insure that this does not happen ever again.” “We hope that as a result of this terrible accident, the developer will finally acknowledge his personal interest in inviting ALL community stakeholders to the community planning table," said Paul S. Bunten, a community advocate.

Winifred Armstrong, a resident of Park West Village for 37 years, said, “The wider issue is the inappropriateness of what is being built and how. The builders, the citizens, and the City need a process that relates new construction in ways that build on and with existing communities. So far in Park West Village we’ve failed.”

Another Park West Village resident, Dorri Jacobs, said, “I have allergic asthma. I hardly ever used medication before, but since the construction started I have to use it everyday, often several times a day. I have to keep the air conditioning on 24/7 or I can’t breathe. It’s unbearable.”

- # # # -

Wall Collapsed at Construction Site!

The retaining wall, installed during the excavation of the site to protect the apartment building, lined the base of the building. The collapse of a section about 20 feet long exposed part of the building’s foundation, officials said. But engineers from the city’s Department of Buildings determined that the apartment building was not in danger of collapse.

As most residents returned to their apartments yesterday morning, several said the collapse had brought their frustrations with the site and the planned development to a boiling point. The construction site has been the subject of meetings of Community Board 7 and the Park West Village Tenants Association, and residents have called 311 to make complaints and raised their concerns on community Web sites.

“This is something that could have been predicted,” the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, said of the collapse. His office is part of a task force established by Community Board 7 to address residents’ construction-related complaints. “Every tenant,” he said, “is up in arms.”

The construction site at 808 Columbus Avenue is enormous, spanning two acres. When finished, the 30-story tower will include 600,000 square feet. It will house 359 residential rental units and a Whole Foods market and other shops on the ground floor. The site and the apartment building next to it are owned by the Chetrit Group and Stellar Management, two prominent Manhattan developers.

Anna LaPorte, a spokeswoman for the Chetrit Group, said that the owners had met repeatedly with tenants and the tenant association to address their concerns. “They continue to do so,” said Ms. LaPorte, who works for Rubenstein Associates, the public relations firm hired by the Chetrit Group.

Officials with the Department of Buildings said that the cause of the collapse was under investigation, but added that preliminary reports indicated that blasting earlier in the day may have led to the rupture.

Buildings Department officials issued a stop-work order for all construction operations at the site, excluding the work being done to repair the wall. Devices to detect movement of the apartment building were installed at the request of city officials, and those devices have not detected any movement since Wednesday night.

The owners and the construction manager, Gotham Construction Company, were issued violations by the Buildings Department for failure to safeguard the public and property. Crews at the site had been issued other violations since construction began in October.

A spokesman for the city’s Department of Environmental Protection said the project had received six violations since January, including citations for air quality problems and for crews working at other than permitted times. In addition, the city’s Environmental Control Board issued a fine of $2,500 for digging without a permit in December.

A statement released by Gotham said the company was cooperating with all the necessary agencies to assess and remedy the situation. Robin Dolch, a Gotham spokeswoman, said the company had tried to mitigate the dust set adrift by the excavation. “But dust can be expected when removing 170,000 cubic yards of earth and rock,” she said.

Residents have registered 52 complaints with the city about the construction work, including complaints about dynamite causing buildings to shake, blasting without proper notification and work starting before 7 a.m. Tenants interviewed yesterday complained that city officials had not done enough to monitor the site or taken their complaints seriously.

Sue Susman, 60, who lives across the street from the construction site, said she was under doctor’s orders to keep her windows closed. “People like me who have asthma have had serious problems,” said Ms. Susman, a member of the Coalition to Preserve West Park North, a group formed as a response to the project.

On Wednesday night, Mr. Garelick slept in his car on Riverside Drive. He returned to his apartment briefly yesterday morning, and stood on his fourth-floor balcony. Below him a backhoe worked to shore up the wall with large stones. The wall, made of vertical and horizontal steel and wooden beams, sits beneath his apartment.

“They were dynamiting right beneath my terrace,” Mr. Garelick said of the work on Wednesday. “The whole apartment was shaking, and stuff fell off my walls.”

Of the nearly 300 units at 784 Columbus Avenue, tenants in all but 17 of them, including Mr. Garelick’s, were allowed to return. They are being kept empty as a safety precaution, officials said.

Mr. Stringer, the borough president, planned to hold a rally at 11 a.m. today to protest the construction work. He said he also planned to ask the Buildings Department to revoke the site’s building permit because of concerns that the development may violate zoning laws.

_______________________________________________________________

WCBS

Wall Collapses On West Side Construction Site

CBS

A retaining wall at a construction site where blasting work was being done collapsed Wednesday night, forcing the evacuation of several hundred residents from a nearby apartment building. No injuries were immediately reported. The wooden wall was holding back earth next to a corner of the apartment building at 784 Columbus Ave., which is on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It fell around 8 p.m., community activist Joan Paylo said.he wooden wall was holding back earth next to a corner of the apartment building at 784 Columbus Ave., which is on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It fell around 8 p.m., community activist Joan Paylo said.

Residents said they had major doubts about the safety of the work being performed.

"When they were blasting and I saw where they were blasting this afternoon, I thought, 'This is too close,"' Bridget Polk said.

Heavy construction equipment was being used afterward to dig up earth and put it at the bottom of the wall. The cause of the wall's collapse wasn't immediately known.

The city's fire and police departments, the Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross responded.

Residents said the scene was chaotic, with scores of them hanging out in the streets around their building, whose structural integrity concerned them.

Many residents evacuated from the building's 288 apartments were being taken to a nearby public school for shelter, the Manhattan borough president said.

Residents of apartments in a certain part of the building wouldn't be allowed to return to their homes Wednesday night, said Brian Cook, senior planner in borough President Scott Stringer's office. It was unclear whether the other residents would be allowed to return Wednesday night.

Stringer said he had requested an order to immediately stop work at the construction site, which has sparked tension between the developer and adjacent residents.

"This has been a very contentious construction project, and it's culminated in the partial collapse," Stringer said.

"They're going to answer a whole lot of questions tomorrow," he added, referring to those in charge of the construction project.

The construction site runs along the west side of Columbus Avenue from 97th Street, where the 16-floor apartment building is located, to 100th Street, Paylo said. Fire trucks lined the avenue Wednesday night.

Residents have complained about noise and work at odd hours at the planned commercial and residential project, which is being handled by Gotham Construction, Stringer and Cook said.

"We have tried to intervene unsuccessfully," Stringer said.

The project includes a 30-story tower and a commercial space stretching from 97th Street to 100th Street and from Columbus Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue, Cook said.

The evacuated building is part of Park West Village, constructed in the 1950s and '60s, which includes residential buildings, park space, schools and churches. Many of the residents are elderly and have health problems, Cook said.

Telephone calls to several listings for Gotham rang unanswered Wednesday night. Others bounced to voice mailboxes that couldn't accept messages.

________________________________________________________________
NY Daily News (Associated Press)

Residents evacuated after Manhattan retaining wall collapses

---

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday, July 26th 2007, 8:01 AM

---

A construction site where a retaining wall collapsed, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate a nearby
building, was already a point of contention in the neighborhood before the wall fell, a city official said.

Local residents have complained about noise and work at odd hours at the planned commercial and residential project on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Borough President Scott Stringer said.

Stringer vowed to ask "a whole lot of questions" Thursday of those responsible for the construction project. Meanwhile, most residents of the evacuated apartment building were allowed to go back home Thursday morning, according to news reports.

No injuries were reported from the wall's collapse Wednesday night, and the apartment building, at 784 Columbus Ave., showed "no signs of distress," the city Department of Buildings said in a statement.

Preliminary reports indicated that blasting work at the construction site earlier Wednesday, may have caused the collapse, although authorities were still investigating, the Buildings Department said.

Residents said they had major doubts about the safety of the work being performed.

"When they were blasting and I saw where they were blasting this afternoon, I thought, 'This is too close,"' Bridget Polk said.

The retaining wall had been installed to protect 784 Columbus Ave., according to the Buildings Department. The wall's fall exposed part of the apartment building's foundation, the agency said.

The Buildings Department halted work at the construction site, except for work required to bolster the wall. Heavy construction equipment was being used to dig up earth and put it at the bottom of the wall.

The Buildings Department said foundation contractor Mayrich Construction Corp. was doing the work to stabilize the wall. Calls to Mayrich's Bronx offices rang unanswered early Thursday.

The company in charge of the construction project is Gotham Construction, according to Stringer. The company referred calls to a publicist, who did not immediately respond to a telephone message early Thursday.

News reports said residents of most of the 288 apartments at 784 Columbus Ave. were allowed back into the building Thursday morning.

The Buildings Department said Wednesday it expected to order 16 apartments to remain evacuated until they were safe to re-enter. An agency spokeswoman said she had no update on the residents' status Thursday morning.

Many residents were taken first to a nearby public school and then to a local health center, apparently because it could provide air conditioning. The American Red Cross was working to help them, Troisi said.

Stringer said he had requested the order to stop work immediately at the construction site, which has sparked tension between the developer and adjacent residents.

"This has been a very contentious construction project, and it's culminated in the partial collapse," Stringer said. "We have tried to intervene unsuccessfully."

The construction site runs along the west side of Columbus Avenue from West 97th Street, where the evacuated 16-floor apartment building is located, to West 100th Street, community activist Joan Paylo said.

The project includes a 30-story tower and a commercial space stretching from West 97th Street to West 100th Street and from Columbus Avenue to Amsterdam Avenue, said Brian Cook, senior planner in Stringer's office.

The evacuated building is part of Park West Village, built in the 1950s and '60s. It includes residential buildings, park space, schools and churches. Many residents are elderly and have health problems, Cook said.

The buildings department said the owner of the construction site, who wasn't identified, would be cited with violations.

_______________________________________________________________

Today's Top StoriesJuly 25, 2007, WABC

Building evacuated after wall collapse

It happened on the Upper West Side

Hundreds of residents were forced out of their apartments on Columbus Avenue between 97th and 100th Streets after a retaining wall gave way.

The wall, located at a construction site, collapsed and residents of 784 Columbus Avenue were evacuated. No injuries were reported.

The wooden wall was holding back earth next to a corner of the apartment building. According to an eyewitness, it fell shortly after 7 p.m.

Heavy construction equipment was then being used to dig up earth and put it at the bottom of the wall.

"This project must stop. Until we have a full investigation and ensure every one of these tenants that they are treated with respect and dignity, more importantly, safety," Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said.

The construction site runs along Columbus Avenue from 97th, where the 16-floor apartment building is located, to 100th Street, a neighbor said.

Residents of all the building's 288 apartments were evacuated. A temporary shelter was set up at nearby P.S. 163.

They said the scene was chaotic, with dozens of them hanging out in the streets around their building. They said they were concerned about the structural integrity of the building.

"I'm not surprised that this happened. I don't know what caused it but they're building or rather they're demolishing and excavating extremely close to the building," a resident told us.

Building officials say they are cautiously optimistic that residents will be able to get back in to the building, except for those living right over the corner where the retaining wall collapsed.

(Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)

A Letter to our Elected Officials on Prospective Stores

PRESERVE WEST PARK NORTH
788 Columbus Ave., 8-O, New York, NY 10025

July 24, 2007

Dear Mr. Leuschel and Ms. Carlson:

In early June, Jeff Winick told a New York Times reporter that he expected to have 60% of
the proposed Columbus Village retail floor area leased by mid-July, based upon his
marketing of the project at the International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas, May
21-23, 2007.

It appears to us that Jeff Winick must have had fewer leases in his pocket leaving Las Vegas
than he had expected, since Winick Realty Group has recently added this urgent banner
headline to their website [see floor area analysis at the bottom of page 2**]:
"Columbus Village: Over 300,000 square feet still available.”

http://www.winick.com/properties.htm

And Winick persists in boasting over having landed a lease with Whole Foods as a way of
attracting new retail clients to Columbus Village:

“What does Whole Foods know about retailing in NYC that you don’t?”

http://www.winick.com/2007_Listings/808/808flyer.htm

Of course, Winick Realty Group acts only as an agent of the developer of the proposed
Columbus Village. We want Whole Foods to know that your status as anchor tenant of the
vast, “Columbus Village” shopping center has not resulted in the windfall of coattail tenants
the developer had anticipated. He is still depending on you for his success far more heavily
than you have yet realized.

Thus, we emphasize to Whole Foods that you are still in a strong position to require
structural changes to the space you have leased from the “Columbus Village” developer in
order to ensure your success as Park West Village neighbors.

Specifically, we require the loading berth that will receive 60-foot semi-trailers to be
relocated from a congested, 40-foot side street (West 97th St.) and all venting from the
store to travel up through the new 30-story residential tower rather than out toward the
existing adjacent residential buildings.


Sincerely,

Vivian Dee, Park West Village; President, Coalition to Preserve West Park North
Jean Green Dorsey, Westgate; Vice President, Coalition to Preserve West Park North
Sue Susman, Central Park Gardens; Vice President, Coalition to Preserve West Park North
Barbara Aubrey, Park West Village; Secretary, Coalition to Preserve West Park North
Lois Hoffmann, Park West Village; President, Park West Village Tenants’ Association
Emily Margolis, Park West Village; Treasurer, Park West Village Tenants’ Association
Paul S. Bunten, Ph.D., Assoc. A.I.A., A.S.I.D.; Park West Village

** Floor area analysis:
Total retail floor area: 316,225 sf
Total community use: 78,903 sf
Subtotal: 395,128 sf
Less Whole Foods: (57,500 sf) Jeff Winick claims to have upsold WF to a total of 60K sf.
Less Duane Reade: (17,200 sf)
Total remaining (est.): 320,428 sf
All floor area estimates per Winick Realty Group.

CityRealty.Com :

According to the Department of Buildings, Costas Kondylis & Partners is the architect for 808 Columbus Avenue, a 30-story building with 359 apartments, and for three other new buildings across the avenue, a 12-story building with 56 apartments at 775 Columbus Avenue on the northeast corner at 97th Street, a 15-story building with 132 apartments at 795 Columbus Avenue between 98th and 99th Streets, and a 14-story building with 63 apartments at 805 Columbus Avenue on the southeast corner at 100th Street.

The fifth new building is a 15-story building with 100 apartments at 801 Amsterdam Avenue at 100th Street. It is being designed by SCLE.

The buildings are planned for completion late next year.

Whereas the balconied buildings of the original complex were typical "towers-in-a-park" structures of similar size and shape, the new buildings differ in height, facade treatment and color and they have setbacks and corner windows.

The new buildings will have a unified architecture style on Columbus Avenue and represent another substantial transformation of that area, which is not far from two taller residential towers nearing completion by Extell Development on Broadway between 99th and 100th Streets.

The new buildings on the east side of Columbus Avenue will have covered walkways between them to provide easy access to the avenue from the rest of the complex to the east.

The covered walkways will also serve to create a continuous two-story high building wall between 97th and 100th Streets on that side of the avenue.

There are subway stations nearby on 96th Street and Central Park West and Broadway and there is good cross-town bus service on 96th Street.

Martin J. McLaughlin, a spokesman for The Chetrit Group, told CityRealty.Com today he did not know how many of the new units might be condominiums and how many might be rentals, but said he would try to find out.