Residents are outraged as homeless shelter is approved on Manhattan's 'Billionaires Row' near where hedge fund boss bought most expensive home in US for $238million
A judge has signed off on plans to put a homeless shelter on Manhattan's 'Billionaires Row' over fierce opposition from residents.
State Supreme Court Justice Alexander Tisch on Monday overruled opposition from the West 58th Street Coalition neighborhood association, which argued the old Park Savoy Hotel was unsafe in the event of a fire.
The controversy has been brewing since January 2018, when Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, quietly sent out letters announcing plans to convert the former hotel fronting Central Park into a 150-bed men's homeless shelter.
Neighbors have opposed having a homeless shelter nearby for fear it would lead to an increase in crime, a decrease in quality of life, and a drop in the values of their homes.
The proposed shelter at the Park Savoy is near skyscrapers like One57, where Michael Dell spent $100M on a penthouse, and 220 Central Park South, where Ken Griffin broke the US record for home purchase price by buying a $238M penthouse in January
Ken Griffin (left) and Michael Dell (right) both own penthouse properties on 'Billionaires Row', where a planned homeless shelter has drawn local opposition
The area is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the world, and has seen a building boom of skyscrapers catering to the ultra-rich.
Directly behind the Park Savoy sits One57, where in 2014 Dell founder Michael Dell broke the city's record for most expensive home purchase by buying a penthouse for $100million.
On the next block, hedge fund boss Ken Griffin shattered that record in January, buying a $238million penthouse at 220 Central Park South - making it the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S.
Not far away sits 432 Park Avenue, where Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez bought a three-bedroom condo in 2018 for $15.3 million, which they put back on the market in January 2019.
Saudi billionaire Fawaz Alhokair and Caryl Englander, the wife of billionaire hedge-funder Israel Englander, are also known to have purchased units in 432 Park Avenue.
The controversy has been brewing since January of 2018, when Mayor Bill de Blasio (above) quietly sent out letters announcing plans to convert the former hotel into a homeless shelter
The now defunct Park Savoy Hotel is creating controversy in a Manhattan neighborhood of sprouting luxury towers dubbed 'Billionaires' Row'
The local neighborhood association, West 58th Street Coalition, sued the city last year, arguing that because the only way out of the Park Savoy is the main stairwell and lobby, there wouldn't be room for escaping residents and first responders in the event of a fire.
'That is why emergency relief is urgently needed now to prevent this shelter from opening imminently,' the group's complaint stated.
'Not only is the building unsafe, but crime and loitering' will lead to 'irreparable injuries that have been found to warrant emergency injunctive relief to block the opening of a homeless shelter,' their law lawsuit claims.
On Monday, Judge Tisch rejected that argument, ruling on the safety issue that 'these are all aspects for which the City and its agencies are supposed to be given deference', the New York Post reported.
Tisch said 'the building is presumably safe and in compliance with applicable laws' because the city has granted the shelter a partial temporary certificate of occupancy.
He also ruled that claims the neighborhood already had more than its 'fair share' of shelters were 'without merit.'
One57 is one of a number of 'supertall' skyscraper residents that together make up a cluster of high-end apartments near Central Park known as 'Billionaires' Row' (pictured)
Randy Mastro, attorney for the West 58th Street Coalition, told the Post that the group was 'disappointed in today's decision and plans to pursue an immediate appeal.'
'This unsafe building should not be permitted to operate as a homeless shelter,' Mastro said.
'Placing the homeless in this building puts their lives at risk, as well as the lives of staff, neighbors and firefighters responding there.'
Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks said that the homeless shelter will begin operations as soon as possible.
De Blasio's administration wants to open a total of 90 homeless shelters across New York's five boroughs within the next five years.
The city's homeless population has been estimated to number more than 63,000.
