The New York State Court of Appeals shut down a lawsuit opposing the development of four new skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood. This legal move upheld the August 2020 ruling by Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court in favor of a group of developers, including JDS Development Group, CIM Group, L+M Development Partners, and Starrett Corporation, to build four more towers along the Two Bridges waterfront on the Lower East Side. The site is bound by Cherry Street to the north, South Street to the south, mid-block between Pike Slip and Rutgers Street to the west, and mid-block between Clinton and Montgomery Streets to the east.
In 2018, Manhattan Borough president Gale A. Brewer and the New York City Council challenged the proposal’s approval by the City Planning Commission on the basis that the new construction required special permits and had to undergo the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process. A lower court decision in 2019 ruled in favor of Brewer.
Now, according to the State Court of Appeals, plans for four new supertalls will face an easier review process and could add more than 2,700 residential units to the area. The buildings include a 730-foot-tall (222-meter-tall) building at 259 Clinton Street by Starrett, a 1,008-foot-tall (307-meter-tall) rental tower at 247 Cherry Street developed by JDS, and a two-tower development rising 798 feet (243 meters) at 260 South Street co-developed by CIM and L+M. Community additions include 690 affordable housing units as part of the residential component, US$15 million in local park improvements, US$12.5 million to rehabilitate a neighborhood NYCHA complex, and a US$40 million improvement project to the East Broadway subway station.
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