Neighbors2Save Rivington House March 12th Forum. Details to follow soon.
Other news from Neighbors to Save Rivington House
The Real Deal: City says Slate exposed tenants to lead-contaminated dust
The landlord, which purchased the Rivington House in a controversial deal last year, exposed tenants in two of its Upper East Side apartment buildings to hazardous amounts of dust containing lead, the city’s Department of Health told DNAinfo. Slate kicked up the dust while renovating 1288 and 1290 First Avenue, which Slate purchased last April. The city’s DOH halted all work on properties until the dust is cleaned up. The developer maintained that once lead was discovered on the property, they addressed the issue immediately….
In the past year, Slate’s been the subject of intense scrutiny due to its purchase of the Rivington House for $116 million (along with partners Adam America and China Vanke). In July, the city’s Department of Investigation released a report that made it seem that Slate conspired to keep the deal quiet until the owner, the Allure Group, successfully lifted a deed restriction on the property. In December, the city acknowledged that it didn’t have a legal case against Allure, despite the mayor’s insistence that he would sue the developer for flipping the Lower East Side property.
Under pressure from the city, Slate also sold its stake in the controversial Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment project in Crown Heights to lead developer BFC Partners. [DNAinfo]
The Lo-Down: Squadron Quizzes Mayor About City’s Unwillingness to Sue Former Rivington House Owner
“Squadron said, “Frankly it leads to questions when (officials) at the highest levels of the administration (are) accusing (the developers) of misleading (the city). “To just be told, ‘we agree but we can’t,’ is not sufficient for a community that is still smarting from the loss of a healthcare facility.”
The mayor agreed to set up a meeting between the city’s top lawyers and Squadron. He also pointed to new city laws, sponsored by local City Council member Margaret Chin, meant to prevent future Rivington House-like fiascos. And he said, “We committed to a nursing facility as part of our Health & Hospitals system that will help low-income seniors in your community as one way to give back some of what was lost. That is a good faith effort.”
Daily News: Questions from the Dans: De Blasio needs to answer Squadron and Garodnick on his entanglements
“On Monday, state Sen. Daniel Squadron demanded an explanation for why the city has declined to sue the developer de Blasio claims deceived his officials into lifting deed restrictions protecting the Lower East Side nursing home known as Rivington House, allowing its conversion into luxury condominiums .”
“Following a frenzy of lobbying by two donors to de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York, lobbyist Jim Capalino and union 1199SEIU, a city agency scrambled to satisfy the demands of nursing home buyer the Allure Group.
Those demands included the deed restrictions’ removal at the bargain price of just $16 million, far lower than area property values would dictate, all on the pretense that a nursing home would remain. Allure then turned around and sold the building to a luxury condo developer for $116 million.
Quite the rip-off. Like this editorial page, Squadron remains puzzled over de Blasio’s claim that his lawyers are powerless to file a credible case under the state False Claims Act, which punishes malefactors who bilk New York taxpayers.”