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Condo board at 88 Greenwich moves to stop 9/11 Tribute Center
Building residents say center will cause congestion
The condo board at 88 Greenwich Street has filed suit against Thor Equities and the September 11th Families’ Association over a plan to bring the 9/11 Tribute Center to the building’s retail space.
The managers filed suit Thursday in New York State Supreme Court alleging that the expanded 9/11 visitors’ center would bring hoards of tourists to the building, potentially blocking the entrance and leading to congestion as visitors wait outside for tours of the nearby 9/11 memorial.
“The proximity to the condominium’s main entrance will undoubtedly cause confusion amongst Tribute Center visitors, who are likely to enter the condominium’s main lobby countless times per day, believing they are entering the Tribute Center,” the suit says.
The condo board is suggesting that Thor move the entrance of the center to the Rector Street side of the 37-story condo building.
“We fully support the 9/11 Tribute center and its ongoing commitment to the Financial District,” said a Thor spokesperson. “This complaint is an insult to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks.”
Adam Leitman Bailey, an attorney for the board, said it was an issue of logistics.
“We welcome the Tribute Center as neighbors, but it makes no logical sense for Thor to put the entrance door right next to the residential building, inviting chaos and dangerous conditions for the occupants and visitors on a small residential street, when a better, larger location exists for the entrance door on the other side of the building,” he said.
Thor, headed by Joseph Sitt, inked a 36-year deal with the Tribute Center for 35,000 square feet in May, according to the lawsuit. The center is slated to open in the spring and would be three times the size of its current location at 120 Liberty Street.
Sitt took full control of the $25 million commercial condominium after purchasing the remaining 50 percent stake in the property from Andrew Heiberger’s Buttonwood Development for about $12.5 million in 2014.
The Tribute Center anticipates that there will be approximately 750,000 to 1 million visitors annually at the new location, the suit says.