Columbus Village is a commercial and residential development being built amid the affordable housing complex, Park West Village, owned by PWV Acquisitions. The proposed development plans for more than 320,000 sf of retail space, an underground parking garage and five residential towers.
The complaint, styled Bunten v. DOB et al, requests that the Court compel the DOB to perform its administrative duty to enforce New York City zoning provisions, so that the citizens of the community can participate in a public review process to protect the character of their community and their environmental rights. The suit asks for an injunction to stop construction, pending review of the zoning violations and all environmental issues.
The central spine of the Columbus Village project is along Columbus Avenue. It is said that it would create the longest pair of unbroken street walls along any avenue in Manhattan, bisecting a large-scale planned community known since 1959 as Park West Village, which consists of four condominium buildings between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, and three rental structures to the west of Columbus Avenue.
"The DOB'S failure to discharge its ministerial duties has shut the door on the public review process, which should include a review and mitigation of environmental impacts as required under New York State law," says Jack Lester, the attorney for the plaintiff. "The DOB's gross dereliction of its administrative obligations is allowing the developer to proceed under a cloak of secrecy and causing harm to the community." The DOB did not return GlobeSt.com queries for comment before deadline.
The main construction area, which runs between 97th and 100th streets along both sides of Columbus Avenue, is the most extensive in any residential neighborhood in New York City. Last July, a retaining wall collapse on the site caused a multi-day evacuation of an adjacent building. The DOB concluded that the construction failure was the fault of the developer. But Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer and other local elected officials said the DOB failed to property police the construction site and penalized the contractor.
Stringer pointed to "system-wide monitoring problems and cast new doubt on DOB's ability to safeguard New Yorkers from the dangers posed by development." According to a statement released by Stringer's office, the "Report of Investigation" by the Department of Buildings Forensic Engineering Unit reveals failures by DOB with respect to the competence of inspections; the presence of required seismic monitors to check the impact of blasting; the enforcement of Stop Work Orders; and the timeliness of conveying information to the public. "The Department of Buildings still doesn't get it," says Stringer in the statement. "We've got a crisis of confidence in this city when it comes to protecting the public from the dangers of construction. This report was an opportunity for DOB to restore its credibility. Instead, we get more of the same." He continues that "the clock is ticking on improving the performance of the Department of Buildings, and time is running out." Stringer's conclusion was echoed by Lester in a prepared statement.
Lester notes that "the retaining wall collapse last summer was just one result of the DOB's neglect of its obligations. Potentially worse results are the drastic violations of community planning and Federal and municipal land use standards, which the developers are getting away with because the DOB has failed to address them. The project will eliminate legislatively protected open space, access routes for vehicles and pedestrians, recreational facilities and the contextual planning for the community, and replace them with increased congestion, density, pollution and incidence of asthma. It will destroy the unique neighborhood character and livability of the historic Park West Village."
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
