The Upper West Side of the future will have fewer people, but those that remain will be very rich. The new owners of the Chatsworth, an historic building on 72nd street and Riverside Drive, are trying to reduce the number of apartments in the building to 81 from 137, even as they add another floor on the roof. HFZ Capital Group, which bought the building for $150 million last year, filed an application late last month to reconstruct the interior of the building and add the rooftop level. It’s not clear from the application what might happen to the rent-stabilized tenants who live in the building if the owners get the green light to renovate.
Clearly, the owners recognize they can make more money renting 60% as many apartments, but charging a few multiples more for each of them.
The application, first revealed by real estate site Buzz Buzz Home, has not yet been approved — apparently there are zoning considerations as well as landmark ones. We had first written about the rooftop addition last month, but the owners delayed bringing it before the community board.
The tenant group at the Chatsworth is feisty, and this battle should be eventful.
