Plans have been filed for a 538-ft.-tall, 36-unit luxury condo development at 5 West 13th Street/8-12 West 14th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue. The tower as proposed would be almost twice the height of the next tallest building currently in the neighborhood and more than double the height of the very large 80 Fifth Avenue, which sits just east of the site. The planned development would only include super-luxury apartments and no affordable housing, and would be dramatically out-of-scale for the neighborhood. 

Village Preservation questioned the developer’s assertion that these plans conform to NYC’s “City of Yes” zoning regulations. The City’s Department of Buildings rejected our challenge, however, saying that the proposed super-luxury tower does in fact conform. If true, it means not only that the City lied about what “City of Yes” would do but also that the new rules actually incentivize bigger, taller, super-luxury condo developments like 5 West 13th Street with no affordable housing throughout our neighborhoods.