UPDATED July 1, 2022, 12:40 p.m.: Chabad Lubavitch has been praying for a resolution to its plight on the Upper West Side. Now it is putting its faith in the judicial system.
David Slager’s PEY Realty, an entity created for the religious organization, sued an LLC of developer Sackman Enterprises over a delay in the delivery of a condo unit that PEY agreed to buy five years ago, PincusCo reported. The Chabad arm is demanding its down payment back, plus monetary damages.
According to its complaint, Chabad’s entity signed a contract in 2017 to purchase for nearly $30 million a community facility condo unit at Sackman’s 15-19 West 96th Street development, intending to use the space for religious, education and community activities.
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Chabad Lubavitch of the West Side alleges that Sackman, which is headquartered on West 73rd Street, is not close to finishing the project and hasn’t delivered on its promises. The developer only recently topped out the building, meaning the uppermost beam was put in place, the suit claims.
Chabad’s entity, PEY Realty, initially took the issue to a three-day arbitration. The arbitrator ruled that PEY should get its down payment back and $800,000 in damages.
According to the lawsuit, however, Sackman has not handed over a penny. An attorney for Sackman’s LLC on the project, Andrew Karas, told The Real Deal it has a right to appeal the arbitration ruling and is considering doing so.
In 2014, Sackman filed plans for a 22-story building at the site, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, according to Department of Buildings records. Sackman had originally planned a 13-story building after buying the site in 2007 for $3.8 million and an adjacent property for $3.5 million.
The revised plan called for a building with 45,000 square feet of residential and 14,000 square feet of commercial space, including 16 floor-through apartments from the seventh floor to the top.
Earlier this year, New York Yimby reported that construction was in progress. A sign on the site stated the project would be completed next spring.
This article has been updated with a response from an attorney for the developer.
[PincusCo] — Holden Walter-Warner