Lawmaker Agrees: Planned UES Tower Could Put Kids At Risk

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side City Councilmember has waded into the dispute between the developer of a planned apartment tower and an adjacent synagogue, who alleges that the development would endanger children at its day school.

In a letter sent Monday to the Department of Buildings, Councilmember Julie Menin asked the city to force the builder, Rybak Development, to pay for scaffolding on the outdoor play areas of the nearby Ramaz School.

Menin's letter came days after Patch broke the news of the court battle between Rybak and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, the synagogue on East 85th Street that is holding up the construction of a 20-story apartment tower at 124 East 86th St., between Lexington and Park avenues.

Rybak went to court because Kehilath Jeshurun has refused to give the developer access to its basement, where Rybak wants to install a vibration monitor to protect the building during construction. That refusal has thrown a wrench into the entire project, Rybak says, since it cannot start excavating the site until the monitor is in place.

But the congregation says Rybak's plans pose "a severe hazard" to students and staff at Ramaz, since they fail to account for the possibility of debris falling onto the school's outdoor play areas.

"The thought of showering debris falling from the neighboring construction site onto or near the playgrounds while their children enjoy their recess is incomprehensible," Menin wrote in her letter to the city on Tuesday.

The scaffolding issue is not the only area of friction between the school and the developers. Other work at the construction site has led to "water infiltration" and damage to the Kehilath Jeshurun building, according to Menin — prompting the Department of Buildings to issue a partial stop-work order last fall.

"During the early phases of this project, there were multiple incidents of damage to CKJ’s lower level chapel rendering it unusable since September," Menin wrote.

Reached for comment, the Department of Buildings did not respond to Menin's main demand, but pointed to the stop-work orders and noted that the development is under audit by the agency's Construction Safety Enforcement unit.

"Recently the contractors filed a required special inspection report for the excavation work at the site, which was reviewed by DOB and showed that the excavation work detailed in the report was in compliance with the NYC Construction Codes," spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said in an email. "We will continue to enforce all applicable safety regulations on construction sites in our city to promote the safety of our fellow New Yorkers."

Rybak, a Brooklyn-based company, has argued in court that roof protections are unnecessary. By the time the new tower reaches the roof of Kehilath Jeshurun's building, the tower will be set back 30 feet from the congregation's property, making the debris concern unfounded, according to Rybak.

Still, the synagogue says they have reason to doubt Rybak's safety record, noting that the company has amassed dozens of violations at its other construction sites around the city.

"We need this protection because based on Petitioner's poor safety history we cannot trust that the children will be safe," Leonard Silverman, the synagogue's executive director, wrote in an affidavit.

The new building will occupy a site formerly home to a two-story Chase Bank branch. Once built, it will include 32 apartments, as well as a 1,500-square-foot ground-floor retail space.

Previous coverage:

• Planned Upper East Side Tower Would Endanger Kids, School Says
  
• Permits Filed For New 20-Story Building On Upper East Side