NYC development left as blockwide hole in the ground because of flap with neighbor over routine safety access: ‘Never seen that before’

A planned 200-unit development on the Upper East Side has been left as a block-wide hole in the ground as the builder clashes with a neighbor over routine safety access.

The builder of the apartment complex at 355 E. 86th St. is suing its neighboring four-story walkup after its owners demanded $20,000 for the acces, leaving the future of the development in limbo.

“I’ve never seen that before, and I specialize in this area of law,” Eli Raider, attorney for the developers, said.

But a lawyer for the tiny neighbor said his client is just refusing their Goliath neighbors from being a “bully.”

The massive corner lot was once a slew of buildings housing a dozen local businesses and roughly 30 apartments, and has long been eyed as a development project.

The block was turned to rubble months ago to make way for a pair of 23-story-buildings with 198 units on East 86th Street and First Avenue.

But neighboring 1661 First Ave. is asking the developer to fork tens of thousands of dollars into an escrow account before it even considers signing onto an agreement to allow protective measures on its own property as part of the project, court documents reveal.

Such lease agreements are of the norm in city building, especially when a new development rises above existing structures, and generally allow for contractors to inspect, survey and install protections during excavation and construction.

Raider, who said he has penned “hundreds” of similar agreements all over the city, claimed that the neighbor’s behavior is anything but, and that their demands are “out of market.”

A draft agreement was replaced with a document demanding twice as much — $20,000 — to be placed in escrow to cover any expenses, with no guarantee that the owners would co-sign an agreement, plus an immediate $5,000 paid to the lawyer and an engineer.

“The bottom line is that we cannot sign this letter as it is unnecessarily and unreasonably duplicative of the escrow and license agreements that are typical in these types of access agreements,” according to an email sent in response to the so-called “pre-negotiation letter,” described as a demand for “$20k from our client for your professional fees without any assurance that you will enter into a license agreement with us.” 

Bruce Leuzzi, the lawyer for First Avenue walk-up, told The Post that Raider’s draft agreement was an attempt to “bully us into/force up us” an overly vague lease.

Typically developers work with neighbors to sign off on site safety plans and lease agreements in order to inspect and install code-required protective equipment on neighboring property. 

Those agreements include promises to cover fees for engineers and other expenses in reviewing and implementing the agreements.

Raider says the draft agreement sent to Leuzzi is the same one he has sent to “hundreds” of buildings across the city, and has been pursuing discussions with the smaller neighbor. 

But emails and calls to meet at the worksite have gone unanswered, Raider said, forcing his hand to sue so his client, Cheskel Schwimmer of Chess Builders, can begin excavation on their new Silk Stocking District building.

“I’ve done everything I can, and I’m getting Heismaned — I can’t go further,” ” Raider said. “He won’t call me. He won’t meet me. He won’t talk to me unless I send him a whole bunch of money. And then he won’t even agree to talk to me after that.”

Schwimmer purchased the primo corner lot from Billionaire’s Row developer Extell earlier this year for $50 million, and has already demolished most of the buildings on the lot, which totals more than 12,000-square-feet. 

The listing was originally packaged with an East 87th Street lot, but was not included in the final sale, records show. 

Since closing, the Williamsburg developer divided the single lot into two, and is spanning 198 apartments across the pair of 23-story buildings, though Raider said from the street, they will appear as one.

Units will average roughly 720-square-feet each, according to filed building plans.

Records show that Extell first bought the building for $14.5 million in 2020 from longtime owner Bremen House.