Lawsuit to stop JDS’s Lower East Side skyscraper is dismissed

A lawsuit over the parcel of land that’s poised to give way to JDS Development’s 1,008-foot Lower East Side rental tower has been dismissed in appellate court. The suit was first filed in 2014 by Little Cherry LLC, alias for developers Gary Spindler and Roy Schoenberg. It alleged, among other things, that the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund violated a contract with the developer concerning the site before JDS was brought on board.

The suit claimed that the neighborhood organizations reneged on a contract to sell the site at 247 Cherry Street to the developers for $4 million. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund had entered into a deal with Little Cherry to build a 47-story building at the site, but terminated the contract when Little Cherry didn’t obtain permits from the Department of City Planning in time, DNAinfo says. The community organizations then went on to make a deal with JDS over the site, and we know how that turned out.

In March 2016, state supreme court judge Jeffrey K. Oing tossed majority of the suit’s claims, but upheld the breach of contract claims, noting that language in the contract was vague concerning whether the overall contract would be scrapped or just the existing development plans. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund appealed the decision, and on Tuesday the appellate court ruled in their favor saying the language was unambiguous, and that it was clear the entirety of the development plans would be scrapped.

Little Cherry still has an ongoing lawsuit against JDS that accuses developer Michael Stern of working with Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Settlement Housing Fund to undermine Little Cherry, which holds the ground lease at 235 Cherry Street.

• Appeals Court Rules to Dismiss Developer's Lawsuit over Waterfront Tower [DNAinfo]
• Court shoots down parking garage owner’s appeal to stop JDS’ Two Bridges tower [TRD]
• JDS’s Lower East Side skyscraper hit with a lawsuit over adjacent site [Curbed]
• Two Bridges residents want to delay spate of waterfront skyscrapers [Curbed]
• Two Bridges residents voice anxieties over spate of new skyscrapers [Curbed]