Ruling on Manhattan skyscraper could affect future development

NEW YORK - After a New York State Supreme Court judge ordered 20 stories or more be removed off the top of the largest residential skyscraper on the Upper West Side, developers fear the ruling could set a dangerous precedent.

"This was a bad ruling—with hundreds of millions of dollars spent, thousands of jobs on the line," said Paiman Lodhi, a senior vice president with the Real Estate Board of New York.

But Eddie Small, a reporter for The Real Deal, said this was a special case.

"It's an extremely unique case on an extremely unique zoning lot," he said. "And this ruling won't necessarily impact very many other big projects in New York City."

Small said the community groups currently have no plans of using their victory as a basis for litigation against other projects. But others are.

Councilman Ben Kallos is seeking to have a 847-foot skyscraper on the Upper East Side cut down by almost half the footage and plans to file a motion based on this case.

"There can be a ripple effect and what it does is really chill the market," Lodhi said. "A lack of construction is bad for the city. It's bad for housing construction growth." 

StreetEasy.com reports that the average cost of a new condo in Manhattan is over $2.3 million and 25% of the over 16,000 condos built since 2013 have yet to be sold.

The developers behind 200 Amsterdam Avenue are currently in the process of appealing the court's decision.