Court Ruling Could Cut Upper West Side's Tallest Tower In Half

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — Upper West Siders are celebrating a court ruling that could force the tallest building in the neighborhood to lop off half of its 55 floors.

A shocking decision from Manhattan Supreme Court, first reported by the New York Times, sided with community groups and elected officials who had long opposed the 200 Amsterdam Ave. tower, which topped out at 52 floors last summer.

Under the ruling, developer SJP Properties' building permit for 200 Amsterdam will be revoked and they will need to shave off a yet undetermined number of its already-built floors to comply with zoning limits.

The decision was met with a celebratory press conference Monday and calls from lawmakers to use the ruling's momentum to challenge other controversial towers in the borough.

"SJP fought the law & the law won," Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal said. "The court’s decision on #200Amsterdam is a cautionary tale to all developers that their overreach won’t be tolerated."

The ruling did not specify how many floors will need to be chopped off the building, but attorneys for the groups who filed the lawsuit against the building argue it could be as many of 20 floor of the 52-story tower.

The building's development team said they will "vigorously" appeal the ruling, which they contend was a "shocking loss for New York City and its residents."

"...Retroactively applying new interpretations of the city’s zoning to previously approved projects undermines the stability of the regulatory environment needed to support the investment that is critical to New York City’s economy, tax base, housing stock and services," the developers said.

The Article 78 challenge to the building was filed by preservation groups the Municipal Arts Society and the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development, who have worked to stop the building since its plans were revealed.

The advocates argued that the development's "gerrymandered" zoning lot — which stretches far beyond the building site — violates the city's zoning codes.

The groups were able to get a 2018 Board of Standards and Appeals approval of the development vacated in Manhattan Supreme Court, but the board re-approved the building plans this year. The new Article 78 challenge was filed in the wake of that decision last July.

When 200 Amsterdam Ave. was first proposed it was to become the tallest building on the Upper West Side. Extell Development's proposed 15 W. 65th St. — which would rise 775-feet-tall — has since taken that title. Neighborhood groups and politicians are also fighting Extell's development.