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East Side Officials, Residents Clash With Real Estate Company Over Mega-Tower

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Gamma Files Plans for 850-Foot-Tall Tower at 430 East 58th Street

Many elected officials and residents of Manhattan’s East Side are none too pleased with the development of a 67-story tower on East 58th Street, between First Avenue and Sutton Place.

According to a New York Times report earlier this month, the tower’s developer, Gemma Real Estate, has already begun laying the groundwork for construction by digging a hole for its foundation and demolishing three four-story walkups.

Ben Kallos, a NYC councilman for the 5th District representing the Upper East Side, told the Times that New Yorkers are “exhausted” by excessive property development in the area.

“This is about standing up and showing the city that there’s another way to do things,” Kallos said, according to the report.

To address residents’ chagrin and dismay with overdevelopment in their neighborhoods, Kallos and a contingent of his fellow elected officials have advocated a zoning change to limit the height of towers on side streets to 21 stories. Kallos and his colleagues hope the change will be approved by Labor Day.

Gamma has pushed back against the zoning proposal, with company president Jonathan Kalikow saying it “threatens the future of projects like Sutton 58, but also could inflict long-lasting damage,” according to a report last month by The Real Deal.

Kalikow blasted the proposal as “self-serving,” saying it is less about community zoning than protecting “the special interests of a small group of Community Board 6 members, many of whom reside at The Sovereign, a large luxury apartment building located adjacent to the Sutton 58 site.”

“At every step, this application has been wholly driven by the desire of these residents to preserve views, not to benefit their community,” Kalikow charged.

Alan Kersh, a resident of the Sovereign and opponent of Gamma’s tower, told the New York Times that the criticism is about more than just one building.

“This building could dramatically change the character of our neighborhood,” Kersh warned, adding that the rezoning could have safety benefits such as protecting residential side streets from towers.

Speak to the Real Deal, Kalikow defended his company’s project, arguing that the tower would “add to the rich legacy of exquisite architecture and design that first gave rise to the Sutton Place neighborhood, all while helping to grow the local economy, increase affordable housing stock and support to the ongoing redevelopment of Midtown East.”

It is not hard to see why Gamma would fight so fiercely for its project, given that it paid $98 million at a foreclosure auction in December of last year for the rights to the property. That is an astronomical amount the company would undoubtedly not want to go to waste.

By: David Koppel

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