'Columbus Village' Suit To Focus on Zoning Error

NEW YORK CITY-For Westsiders for Public Participation, a local community organization, is expecting to further an area lawsuit Thursday night, when it plans to hold a public meeting in an attempt to “highlight the New York City Department of Buildings’ negligence on neighborhoods in the city.” According to a prepared statement “these issues are endemic to the DOB and are not going to be solved by [Commissioner] Patricia Lancaster ‘s departure.”

The organization was recently formed by Paul Bunten, an area resident who has filed suit in attempt to force the developer of the proposed “Columbus Village” to comply with land use regulations and respond to community interests. The suit was filed against the DOB and 11 other defendants, plus 20 “John Doe” defendants, which are expected to be named at a later date. Queries to the DOB were unreturned by deadline, but in a previous article, which revealed the suit, a DOB spokesperson told GlobeSt.com that “we are awaiting the legal papers and will review them thoroughly.”

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.