UPDATE: Wednesday, September 24 at 1 p.m.: The city’s Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Environmental Compliance completed an inspection of the former ABC campus demolition site on Tuesday, and found that the chemical smell was “a result of an authorized burn on the rooftop which lasted one day,” according to City Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office.
Additionally, Extell Development had the possession of its DEP Demolition permit and “re-assured” the city’s inspectors that “they are taking all steps to mitigate dust emission, including frequently watering down the site,” Brewer’s office relayed to the Rag.
No violations were found.
By Gus Saltonstall
Demolition work has revved up in September after permits were filed with the city for work at the former ABC campus site, now owned by Extell Development. The site covers the square block of West 66th to 67th streets between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.
While no plans have been sent to the city by Extell regarding what it will build there once the existing structures are demolished, the developer’s founder, Gary Barnett, has told the Upper West Side Community Board 7 that it hopes to construct two properties on the site, including a 1,200-foot-tall luxury residential building that would also feature an unspecified number of affordable units.
If built, the project would be roughly the same height as the Empire State Building.
In the past two weeks, West Side Rag has received multiple emails from local residents expressing worry about both the height of the building and the conditions in areas around the demolition work.
“People on West 68th Street are very concerned about what they’re breathing in, and no one seems to care,” wrote one resident, who asked to remain anonymous.
Another resident of the area expressed similar worries.
“I’m concerned it’s giving off harmful fumes as the construction workers are wearing full PPE [personal protective equipment] and respirator masks,” the resident, who also wished to remain anonymous, wrote in an email. “I’ve noticed the windows in my apartment get covered in soot and also the cars on the street. There is constantly broken glass and fragments of other materials all over the sidewalk and road.”
On Monday, Upper West Side City Councilmember Gale Brewer sent a letter to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), expressing the concerns of residents of West 66th and 67th streets, and requesting that city agents perform an inspection of the site to “determine if all air, noise, and other laws are being followed.”
“Residents point out that their eyes and throats are burning,” wrote Brewer. “They are correctly concerned about what they are breathing. Residents complain to my office that there is a sharp smell of burning plastic coming from 67th and Columbus.” Brewer’s office confirmed that inspectors from the city visited the site on Monday.
WSR also visited on Monday and observed multiple doormen along West 67th Street, between Columbus and Central Park West, wearing face masks.
“Keep the door closed or the smell will get in,” one resident told a doorman on the way out of his building on the block, but neither wanted to speak further on the record.
In the 10 minutes this Rag reporter observed the site on 67th Street, I experienced both the smell of burning rubber and the watering eyes that came with it.
Extell Development did not reply to the Rag’s request for comment on the community concerns.
We will update this story when we learn the results of Monday’s DEP inspection of the demolition site.
How Tall Will It Be?
The possibility of a 1,200-foot building on West 66th and 67th streets, and comparisons of it to the Empire State building, have appeared in multiple headlines and articles in recent weeks.
Here’s a more Upper West Side-based comparison: A 1,200-foot building would be almost twice the height of the 200 Amsterdam Avenue development [668 feet], which was considered controversial for being too tall. If a new building were to be constructed at that height, it would be by far the tallest in the neighborhood.
But, so far, no new building permits with any specific dimensions have been filed with the city for the former ABC site, and Extell Development is under no obligation to file them until after the demolition work is completed. That completion date is unknown.
That said, Barnett and Extell have publicly stated their wishes for the new building to reach its fully allowable stature, which is 1,291 feet.
Does that mean that Extell can build something that high, and the city has no means to block it?
The short answer? Yes they can, and no there aren’t.
It comes down to zoning. On the former ABC site, there is an enclave of addresses at 7 Lincoln Square/147 Columbus Avenue, 47 West 66th Street, 54 West 67th Street, and 77 West 66th Street that do not fall within an historic or special district and also have no landmark status.
In the diagram below, you can see this former ABC campus site sits outside of the black bolded line, which represents the Lincoln Square Special District.
Not only do these addresses fall outside of any special district, but they are also zoned differently.
The area on West 66th and 67th streets, from Columbus to Central Park West, has commercial zoning laws similar to Midtown, where there are not the same height-limit rules that exist in the adjacent blocks of the Lincoln Square Special District, which was established in 1969 “to preserve and enhance the area surrounding Lincoln Center as an international center for the performing arts.” The area outside the district was removed from Lincoln Square and given different zoning laws in the mid-20th century to allow ABC more flexibility in their business operations.
Besides the zoning situation, Extell can use air-rights rules to build a taller structure. When a single entity owns multiple buildings on the same site in New York City, they are able to combine unused air rights of other properties to make one building as tall as possible. In this case, Extell would have to combine the unused air rights of half a dozen other buildings on the former ABC campus to maximize the height of this new residential tower.
Read More:
- What’s to Come for ABC’s Former UWS Campus? It’s Up in the Air…
- Negotiations About ABC’s Former Upper West Side Facilities Still Under Wraps
- CB7 Pushes for Affordable Housing at Former UWS ABC Campus, But Developer Plans Still Uncertain
- Extell Chairman Says He Willing to Include Affordable Housing at Former UWS ABC Site
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We need more housing at every income level and tall buildings are what make Manhattan, Manhattan.
But they also need to follow all health and safety regulations during demolition.
Except the super talls block the sky and sunshine for the mere mortals in the ground. No one wants to live in a city that’s like caverns.
Josh P.
Reminder: residential high rises generate vehicles.
So there will be more vehicles and traffic.
Residential high rises generate many fewer vehicles than the same number of homes in suburban sprawl. The more people who can live in this building, the fewer people who are living a car dependent lifestyle in the suburbs. Building more housing in Manhattan is one of the most environmentally friendly things we can do.
Josh P,
1. Residents of luxury high rises use Uber and ecommerce – thus vehicles.
(They are not walking to local stores with their carts and re-usable bags.)
2. There are also service vehicles – HVAC, elevator and so on.
3. Actually super-tall buildings are bad for the environment (materials needed for construction, emissions, trapping heat etc)
The optimal building, the best for the environment, is about 10 stories.
4. Many of the residents will have homes elsewhere anyway – where they use cars and/or Uber.
and dogs
The new building will only be for Billionaires the folks Zohran says should not exist.
People see how much some of these new apartments cost and think that no regular person can afford them, but if look at StreetEasy all the existing apartments are basically the same, crazy high prices. If you haven’t moved lately it’s hard to understand how desperate people are for more housing in the neighborhood.
I am willing to bet some mere millionaires will live in that building too
Good. More money to spend at local restaurants and shops, plus property taxes and undoubtedly sky-high HOA fees that will be paying the salaries & benefits of dozens of building employees.
Bet they get a 20 year abatement (no tax’s) for affordable units in another building
Just so certain people know wealthy households have a multiplying effect on local economy. This is no different than Victorian era or before.
Compensation paid to servants and or staff, money paid to local services, and so forth all go into local economy.
Yeah, it’s a bit of “Upstairs/Downstairs” but never the less it’s an undeniable fact spending habits of well off households have huge effect on local economy.
Child minders, pet minders, laundresses, laundries, dry cleaners, domestic staff, shops/retail of all sorts, restaurants, bars and other hospitality…. List goes on….
Yes! And this is all a good thing. As the old saying goes, “I’ve never been given a job by a poor person”.
Indeed!
Maybe the new mayor can redistribute the wealth of NYC so everyone will be equal.
I realize you are just trolling but I am also willing to bet he won’t (and can’t)
I believe he will try by overtaxing wealthy and giving away Free stuff.
Extel.
What more do you need to know.
May I be the first to say that I can HARDLY WAIT for a 1,291-foot-tall building to sprout in the neighborhood! Even if it sparks a building rivalry from the UES, this is something we desperately need here!
Yrs,
Capt. YIMBY
This is simply the wrong location for a building of this height. We need more residences, but you can accomplish that without putting a supertall on central park west. The people behind this project are apparently tasteless.
The NIMBYism is absolutely out of control. I also cannot WAIT for this building to go up.
Oh, I’ll bet they have a great taste for $$$ if nothing else.
why, specifically?
Because it’s there, or will be.
I only hope the final design includes a spacious arcade at ground level to shield passers-by from the excess of falling dead birds sure to result from cladding the tower in the latest adaptive optics intended to render it virtually invisible and thus prevent the southern regions of Central Park from becoming a dark and chilly wasteland every afternoon. That would be swell.
It’ll kill less birds than garish windmills!
One building will kill fewer birds than many [garish?] windmills? A striking thought!
Okay, then, if we can’t render it invisible, we’re left with the prospect of its blotting out the sun over southern Central Park. Maybe the Children’s Zoo can be expanded into the shadow zone and change its focus to polar bears and various nocturnal animals.
Good! Too much sun causes skin cancer. We need more, not fewer, tall buildings.
Actually? While tens of thousands of birds die from windmills every year, tens of millions do from windows. .
And cats? don’t ask. You’ll probably want those banned too.
NY1 did a story last week that did a good job explaining the zoning issue and status of the project.
https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2025/09/19/building-nearly-as-tall-as-empire-state-building-could-rise-on-upper-west-side
I hooe someone plans for the traffic on 66th St. With the park transverse and bus routes it is already quite busy and will get worse when the Related building on the south side of 66th is fully occupied. Perhaps they can put in a circular driveway for all the Ubers, Amazon, FedEx and other cars that need to pull in and stop.
The smell has been awful this week coming from the construction site. I saw a worker directing traffic on 67th in a protective respirator mask today. There’s glass on the street. Brutal. Extell should be bending over backwards to ensure neighbors are as happy as possible given their major disruptions to health and safety.
This is a great location for super tall buildings. Taller means more housing.
We need more housing but this is a silly location for a building this tall
Usually yes, I’m hopeful we get a lot of units along side the inevitable penthouses, seems there are fewer zoning issues so they won’t have to play the mechanical void game that 200 Amsterdam did
Amazing that Jackie O was able to rally the city to stop the Solomon Brothers tower at the old Coliseum site because of the shadows that would be cast over the park and yet now there are super talls everywhere and this completely out of scale building. Where are our representatives? Oh we’ll get lip service from Gale and the others but nothing will happen. Bring back the St. Nicholas rink/arena
Yes. And those buildings (most recently ABC’s) were once stables.
Mrs. Kennedy Onassis and the then (and still remain) usual suspects against development on UWS (or many other areas of city for that matter), did not scuttle plans for new officer tower to replace old NY Coliseum site on their own. Rather it came down to that other thing it always does with real estate; timing.
Mortimer B. Zuckerman (developer), MTA (owner of property) and City of New York (Koch administration) fought amongst themselves along with battling legal challenges for so long providence was able to pay its hand. Stock market crash of 1987 caused main tenant of tower (Solomon Bros) to pull out citing need to revaluate need for office space in wake of market correction.
Even after Solomon Bros. pulled out of Mort Zuckerman and by then Dinkins administration kept trying to get at a deal which included still coping with lawsuits (they all failed to prevail in court), and working with MTA.
It would be until 1998 that Coliseum site was finally sold and property redeveloped into what was then called Time Warner Building. To avoid more noise from Municipal Arts Society and others the building stands only 55 stories tall. This down from original proposal of 68 that was subsequently dropped to 58.
https://archive.ph/qR8eU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Coliseum#Closure_and_demolition
So, Bill got it wrong is what you’re saying. Shocking.
Maybe they can pitch a casino to be built on this block.
And at least 3 supertalls could populate this block.
How can the city allow construction to begin anywhere without knowing what is going to be built? How can permits be issued without detailed information. The level of corruption is mind boggling !!
This happens all the time…
Permits are issued for demolition of current structure even if no plans have been filed or even made for actual redevelopment. If owner of property does intend to tear down building in question sooner or later, sooner is better than leaving it standing about empty.
It is a huge liability issue not to mention cost in keeping an abandoned/empty building standing. Vandals break in to steal bits, homeless and others make use of property, and so it goes.
Owner of a building vacant or not is still responsible if pieces fall off and hit someone. This and or people enter (with or without permission) and something happens to them. Tear the thing down and worry about replacement later.
Often in past such properties were turned into parking lots if no concrete plans for redevelopment were in pipework. This brought in some revenue (which helped offset taxes and other fixed costs) until land was redeveloped.
They probably have permits for demolition. They are still working on plans.
Extell is still sitting on a huge UES plot of land that has sat vacant for several years.
https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/us-news/nyc-development-left-as-blockwide-hole-in-the-ground-because-of-flap-with-neighbor-over-routine-safety-access-never-seen-that-before
Leave us hope things move faster for former ABC campus.
are these voluminous buildings going to include voluminous parking capacity ?
I hope not. Our streets have enough traffic as it is. Plus it’s right off of the subway anyway!
Actually they’ll be taking Uber.
So more cars and traffic
No one who lives in that building will be taking the subway!
Fact that it’s right off subway enhances any residential real estate idea.
People will pay more to rent or buy housing that is in close proximity to subway.
One reason West End avenue quickly went from private row houses and mansions to multi-family apartment buildings was opening of subway along Broadway back in 1904.
With the subway just one block away property values along West End avenue greatly increased largely due to speculators seeking to tear down rowhouses and build multi-family apartment buildings they were certain to fill.
On UES same thing has happened with opening of SAS. Property values along Third, Second and First have risen as have rents since the area is no longer no man’s land. Everywhere you look in Yorkville new housing has either gone up, is in process of going up, and or planned.
As long as you don’t get lit on fire or consumed by rats.
Why would you care all the way from Lawn Guyland?
The tower won’t actually be lived in. It will be the 6th or 7th homes of foreigners. Plus three apartments for regular NYers. People who say, good, we need more housing are either disingenuous or Gary Barnett. I should have said and/or!
We have an extremely vacancy rate in the city right now. The data say that we are facing a housing shortage even of expensive homes. Let rich people live in the tower instead of bidding up the prices of the apartments that us normals live in.
1. None of the new buildings in the neighborhood are empty. You can walk by any evening and see the lights on.
2. What is wrong with “foreigners” buying homes in our neighborhood? Is it all foreigners or just some of them?
200 Amsterdam still has a bunch of vacancy, and undoubtedly 50 W 66th will have even more vacancy
200 Amsterdam is condo not rental.
Yes, there are still unsold units but remaining vacant properties are being purchased. Just last week an apartment sold for $21 million.
Overall number of unsold units is not abnormally vast.
High interest rates of past several years has put bit of a damper on sales market. That is beginning to ease however.
https://streeteasy.com/building/200-amsterdam-avenue-new_york/42?utm_campaign=sale_listing&utm_medium=share&utm_source=web&lstt=tSeSTDc9XEP5heF9dXfh9EDinYNDxp3YBinWUe0QqWKDWZD7xHNlywORrbEzmJQTdeGnF9kX2mnHWZTB
https://streeteasy.com/building/200-amsterdam-avenue-new_york
I love the Super Tall buildings. They add to the Skyline and make NYC a world class city on par with other Tall Buildings in the World. Also the new buildings usually do a great job of containing their Garbage indoors and have nice lighting and create a safer environment around the building. Also the new buildings do a great job of maintaining the sidewalks in front of the buildings since they have ample funds.
We need to repeal the ridiculous Landmark ruling for most of the UWS which has stalled Housing and Development for 20+ years now. There are so many run down UWS buildings that are eyesores and have lots of garbage in front. They could be replaced with beautiful new buildings.
Are you serious? Sorry, I can’t tell your tone.
Agree.
Sheep’s Meadow will be ruined by the shadow blocking afternoon sun! This impacts every NYer who visits Central Park
Doesn’t matter. It will likely soon be mega-super-condos also.
Not to mention every tourist.
Oh, well, the tourism business has already gone to pot … for some reason.
M66 bus has been impacted for years due to the construction of the luxury building on 65-66th Street between Central Park and Columbus.
Now another construction site which will further slow the M66.
A high rise luxury building means more vehicles.
Of course during construction.
Then once built, it will generate service/repair, ecommerce and Uber.
Many more vehicles than commercial use like ABC.
Residential also means much more garbage (than commercial ).
Where is all that trash going to be situated?
There is not enough room for tons of trash from a high rise residential building.
Seems weird that a commercial district zoning can magically be used for residential construction. Is it a commercial building or residential building? Does it matter? Should it matter?
Looking forward to an exciting new building, more housing, and my new neighbors.
Where are you moving to?
Amazing! We need housing and the zoning and the manhattan density support this. It’s projects like this that will keep New York viable and our nation slightly more democratic (big and small d). Take a look at the map of what happens if we don’t start producing substantial amounts of housing asap in blue states. It’s scary.
This will produce housing for the 1%, who almost certainly vote in Florida or wherever else they use for a tax shelter to avoid paying NYS income tax….
Aside from blocking everyones’ view, if those plans are executed, the overcrowding in the neighborhood will be uninhabitable. The construction on 66th Street is a colossal mess on both sides of the street, and it’s a daily struggle just to navigate walking down the block. In addition, scaffolding from ABC fell on my dog’s stroller and almost crushed her to death (no exaggeration). I’m fed up with the constant noise and disruptions that have occurred over the past 30 years on the UWS.
All other things aside…your dog gets a stroller?
FYI–The stroller is a necessity for a health issue. Thank you for your concern for the health and well-being of myself and my dog.
Really old, frail dogs need them. Otherwise they would never make it outside to do their business.
Someone should invent a DOGGY LITTER box so dogs could do their business INSIDE! That’d make for a more pleasant outside experience for everyone — including sanitation workers!
@living here Welcome to the neighborhood.
Yes. Get used to it. Dogs trump humans on the UWS.
Do we have another World Trade Center event here? Toxic fumes that The City is ignoring and that will cause cancers and other diseases for years to come?
I think we can count on on Gale Brewer and Linda Rosenthal to ignore all noise and health violation complaints, the same way they’ve ignored them on West 76th Street with the NY Historical. Anticipate years of disruption.
“The site covers the square block of West 66th to 67th streets between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.”
That can’t be correct. Extell does not own that whole block east to CPW.
They own everything from Columbus all the way down to the building next to the prewar at the end of the block on CPW between 66th and 67th with the exception of the prewar apartment buildings that are on the south side 67th. That is a lot of buildable space and I am really nervous about what will become of this block. Of course it will be under construction for many years to come so we have that to look forward to
Thanks for the detail.
Whew. What a mess. I can hardly believe
how complicated this is and how much our
precious UWS will change not for the bettet
At the moment i think residents of 67 th St.
should be compensated in some way.
Like everyone should receive a hi tech
air purifier immediately
God help us.
Our precious UWS builds less housing than any other rich neighborhood in New York. I can’t wait for us to turn that around so more people can live here.
I miss the UWS of the 1980s. These developers are turning it into midtown.
Gary Barnett is one of the crown princes of NY real estate. Extell did not pay vast sums for that former ABC campus without knowing what they were doing. This just as ABC also knew what it had with that property and priced things accordingly.
What happens next for this site will largely depend upon next mayoral administration (whoever is elected in November and takes office in 2026). Same applies to city council.
Since site is zoned for residential as of right including vast amounts of FAR, a tall tower seems all but certain to happen. Can city get Extell to give a little something such as some sort of onsite low income or affordable housing? That will remain to be seen.
This is a tourist area, right near a cultural center of the nation. To have noise, dust and smells – which I have also smelled, and for more than one day – will be a turn off to tourists who likely won’t take repeat visits to the area and otherwise reduce patronage. A giant, shadow-casting monstrosity, will irreparably alter this attractive, jewel of neighborhood
Extell is the biggest an baddest builder around.
Damn you really can see the impact of this development getting posted to a YIMBY discussion group. The comments read like Bots on that South African Apartheid scion’s social media platform .
If any curiosity about the amount and impact of trash produced by a super high rise luxury building, check out Beekman Street when the Gehry Building trash and recycling is left out for pick up.
The sidewalks are impassable.
And the rats rejoice.
Residential buildings result in much more trash than commercial.
Maybe the size of the Empire State Bldg. !!!.There needs to be a law !
Hi tech air purifiers should be provided
to all residents in the area to prevent disease
by Extell Corp