The competition for land in NYC is notoriously fierce, but on the Upper East Side the fight for even the smallest sliver of property can turn into a fat lawsuit.
Last year, Goldman Sachs executive Peter Weidman purchased a $7.3 million townhouse at 162 East 83rd Street on the Upper East Side. What he didn’t realize at the time was that a 2-by-20-foot parcel inside his fenced-off backyard actually belongs to an adjoining condo, according to the New York Post.
Even though the land is worth no more than $402 and amounts to less than two percent of his lot, Weidman — who manages Goldman’s real estate investing division — wants to ensure the neighboring Merritt House Condominium at 167 East 82nd Street does not encroach on his home.
Weidman claims in the lawsuit that the land was “mistakenly” registered as part of the condo’s property with the city’s Department of Finance.
City officials allegedly made the error when the condo was converted from a rental building in 2010. The land has been used by the townhouse since 1994.
Weidman is suing to have the land re-registered in his name because he’s “the first to rightfully lay claim” to it, according to the Post. [NYP] –Christopher Cameron