Politicians call for city to turn over $16M from Rivington House deed change

The $16 million the city made off a controversial deed change at 45 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side should go the community, politicians said Wednesday.

The lifting of a deed restriction at the property in November paved the way for the $116 million sale in February to developers Slate Property Group, China Vanke and Adam America Real Estate, who plan to turn the former HIV/AIDS-care facility into a luxury condominium building.

At a press conference outside the Rivington House, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council member Margaret Chin and State Senator Daniel Squadron said the community had lost a facility and the city should invest the money it received to replace the resource, the New York Post reported.

The elected officials also asked that the city turn over documents related to the transaction, the Post reported.

Last month, City Comptroller Scott Stringer took a look at the deal in which the Allure Group, a for-profit nursing home operator, paid the city $16 million to lift the deed restriction on the 150,000-square-foot property. The building was restricted for nonprofit use.

Allure, which bought the property for $28 million in early 2015, then flipped the property. The city has accused Allure, which reportedly owes the city more than $5 million in back taxes, of misleading them about the sale. The de Blasio administration, which has been under fire for the deal, said on Tuesday they weren’t told about the lifting of the deed restriction.

The city’s Department of Investigation and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are also investigating the deal. [NYP] — Dusica Sue Malesevic