Sperone Westwater Sues to Prevent Ian Schrager’s 25-Story Hotel on Chrystie

Definitely ironic how one Bowery newcomer, itself a harbinger of unwanted change along the thoroughfare, is vehemently opposed to another tower in the works one block eastward. The Sperone Westwater Gallery has been against the proposed 25-story mixed use project at 215 Chrystie Street since plans were first revealed last year. Now the showroom, located at 259 Bowery, is suing to block Ian Schrager’s project from happening. The starchitect and a group of investors together purchased the property last month for $50 million.

Transplanted from Chelsea to the Lower East Side three years ago, Sperone Westwater is taking legal action to force an environmental review of the mega development, which will be double the height of any building in the area.

The Real Deal has the scoop:

In a complaint filed Jan. 10 in New York State Supreme Court, the gallery argued that the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals should have ordered an environmental review before approving the plan.

The 146-unit mixed-use tower at 10 Stanton Street, between the Bowery and Chrystie Street, would be 289 feet high and have 195,000 square feet of space, and lawyers claim it would cast shadows across the adjacent Sarah Delano Roosevelt Park and the nearby Liz Christy Community Garden.

Court hearing is scheduled for February 8.