General Growth leaves East Harlem project

Developer General Growth Properties, which filed for bankruptcy in April, has backed out of the East Harlem Media Entertainment and Cultural Center, a 1.7 million-square-foot retail and residential complex proposed for East 125th Street. The other partners plan to continue with the project and will find a different retail partner or do the retail development on their own, said Stephen Hayes of project manager the Carey Group. A group of local property owners filed suit in state Appellate Court this month against the project, which will include 600 apartments for moderate and middle-income families. The property owners argued that the project has limited public benefits because it is being built by a private developer.