DDG accused of “drawing an imaginary line” on the UES

1558 Third Avenue
1558 Third Avenue

Developer DDG is facing new opposition to a skyscraper rising at 1558 Third Ave at East 88th Street. Some locals say the developer is “drawing an imaginary line.”

The currently under-construction L-shaped residential tower will rise 521 feet. But that’s because DDG carved out a second, 10-by-22-foot lot on the property, according to plans cited by DNAinfo. Technically, the property touches East 88th Street, but the because the property now borders Third Avenue, the developer is allowed to build higher under the avenue’s more generous zoning regulations.

“If you own a piece of land where the zoning says you can’t build a skyscraper in this part of the district, you don’t get to draw an imaginary line in the sand,” City Councilman Ben Kallos, who filed the appeal with other elected officials and the Carnegie Hill Neighbors group this month, told DNAinfo.

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The project has faced similar opposition, even receiving a stop work order for using an “unbuildable lot for the sole purpose of evading zoning restrictions,” according to the the Department of Buildings.

Locals filed their third challenge to the project this month asking officials to completely revoke all construction permits. [DNAinfo]Christopher Cameron