Split decision lets West Side supertall builders proceed
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Developers now have the green
light to continue construction
on a stalled Manhattan skyscraper
set to become the tallest tower
on the Upper West Side.
The Board of Standards and Appeals
(BSA) split a vote, 2 to 2, after a hearing
last week challenging Extell Developers
use of mechanical space in their
775-foot-tall condo at 50 W. 66th St.
According to BSA rules, the tied ruling
automatically went in favor of the
developer.
In New York, space used to house
mechanical equipment is not calculated
into a building’s floor area ratio. Some
developers use a loophole to increase
building height beyond zoning regulations
by designating several floors worth
of empty space in a building to mechanical
equipment in order to increase the
building’s height and fetch a higher
price for top-floor apartments.
“The Jan. 28 split decision at the
BSA shows how extreme Extell’s plans
are and the danger mechanical voids can
pose to other neighborhoods that could
soon be blighted by supertall buildings,”
said state Senator Brad Hoylman in a
statement after the hearing. “It’s shameful
that the BSA is allowing this project
RENDERING COURTESY OF EXTELL
A rendering of Extell’s 175-foot-tall tower at 50 West 66th St.
Manhattan man booked for sex trafficking
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A Manhattan man was indicted for
allegedly forcing a 17-year-old
girl into prostitution as well as
running a sex trafficking and prostitution
scheme with multiple young women over
the course of a year.
Arthur Dawson, 28, was charged with
multiple counts of sex trafficking, rape,
strangulation, promoting prostitution and
conspiracy.
“This horrific case illustrates why my
Office fought so hard for the passage of
the Child Sex Trafficking Act last year,”
said District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance
Jr. “As alleged, this defendant recruited
a child, sold her on street corners, and
raped her when she asked for a portion
of the money she was paid for sex acts.
Our laws finally reflect the reality that we
see in this case: child prostitution is not
only despicable, it is sex trafficking, plain
and simple.”
According to charges, in April 2019
Dawson and another individual allegedly
conspired to traffic a 17-year-old girl and
to still move forward.”
Hoylman added that he supports
legislation introduced last February
by fellow state Senator Robert Jackson
and Assemblymember Linda
Rosenthal which would make all
mechanical void space count towards
a building’s height unless it
makes up for less than 5 percent of
the building’s total area. Under the
bill, every additional 12 feet of void
space and ceiling heights greater
than 12 feet would count as a floor.
Open air spaces like balconies or
terraces would also be folded into
total floor space, according to the
legislation.
Residents, preservationists and
elected officials alike have opposed
the development since Extell announced
plans to build the supertall
four years ago arguing that the loophole
allows for “Midtown Creep” in
a residential neighborhood.
The hearing was on a zoning
appeal by preservation group
Landmark West to see if Extell
is”appropriately occupying” the 176
feet of designated mechanical space
in the tower. According to the appeal,
only 22 percent of which was
found to be housing equipment.
Extell did not respond immediately
to a request for comment.
made contact to her through Facebook’s
messaging service. Dawson and the other
individual allegedly compelled her to
perform commercial sex acts at locations
throughout New York City and directed
her to stand in the street waiting for cars
in order to engage in prostitution over
the course of several weeks. They then
allegedly forced her to hand over all of
the money she made.
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
In one instance, after she asked for a
portion of the money she had been paid
to perform sexual acts, Dawson allegedly
forcibly raped and strangled the victim.
It is also alleged that between July
2018 and October 2019, Dawson and
the other individual conspired to promote
the prostitution of multiple young
women. In one instance, Dawson allegedly
trafficked one woman by forcing her
to engage in prostitution under threat of
physical force against her and her family.
He allegedly forced her to follow a set of
rules, including not limited to not talking
to other men who were promoting prostitution
and asking any car that stopped
to speak to her whether they were law
enforcement.
On one occasion, Dawson allegedly
prevented this same woman from seeing
her children unless she made a certain
amount of money by engaging in prostitution.
In another incident, Dawson
allegedly forced the woman to engage in
sex acts in order to repay money she had
earned in prostitution and that had been
taken when she was robbed by another
individual.
“I thank the prosecutors in my Office
for securing this indictment on behalf of
this 17-year-old, as well as, the multiple
women Dawson and his co-conspirator
allegedly trafficked,” said DA Vance. “The
threats, rules, and isolation they employed
are hallmarks of sex trafficking, and together
with our partners in the NYPD, we
have put this violent operation to an end.”
4 February 6, 2020 Schneps Media