In June, Village Preservation angrily protested to the city that work on construction of a planned 213-ft.-tall tower at 14 Fifth Avenue we opposed had resumed, even though a stop-work order had been placed on the site, construction work there had previously damaged neighboring 10 and 12 Fifth Avenue (the former so seriously that the building was vacated), and promised repairs to neighboring buildings had still not taken place. We noted that the city had seemingly issued permits for the new construction, in violation of its own stop-work orders and its commitments regarding how the project would proceed. We noted this was another in a long line of failures on the part of the city regarding oversight of construction work and vulnerable buildings, particularly historic ones.

After five-and-a-half weeks and countless follow-ups (including from Councilmember Erik Bottcher), we finally got a response from the city, informing us that in response to our protests:

• Violations were issued for not obeying the stop-work order 
• Enforcement action for working beyond the limits of the stop-work order are “currently being written”
• Enforcement action was taken for “failure to provide pedestrian protection for sidewalks and walkways … and failure to maintain adequate housekeeping”

We were also informed that the owner of 10 Fifth Avenue anticipates exterior repair work to the building being completed by the end of August or early September, and interior repair work will take approximately four to five months to complete, with an anticipated timeline for completion of repairs as December 2024. The vacate order for the building will be lifted by the NYC Department of Buildings when interior and exterior work is complete and both jobs are signed off.

The owner and the city have consistently failed to meet promised deadlines, and the violations issued still must be adjudicated this fall, with the outcome to be determined then. The city has still refused to answer why permits were apparently issued for this work (which may well affect adjudication of these violations) and why more than a year and a half later no one has been held responsible for the dangerous city-approved work that nearly destroyed the landmarked 180-year-old 10 Fifth Avenue and damaged the landmarked 120-year-old 12 Fifth Avenue.

All of this could have been avoided had the city heeded our call in the wake of the 14 Gay Street disaster to provide stricter oversight of and enforcement against developers with track records of damaging work, such as Madison Realty Capital, the owner of 14 Fifth Avenue. The city has continued to refuse to implement such a policy as bad actors continue to damage and destroy properties throughout NYC, particularly in landmarked areas.

TO HELP: