60 East 86th Street — the glass building in the middle (Google Maps)
This project marks the mega-popular rental developer’s first foray into the condo market — and results have allegedly been “hazardous” and “deficient.”
Glenwood’s luxury development at 60 East 86th Street (located just steps off Madison Avenue and a mere block away from Central Park) has reportedly become quite a headache for residents. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Manhattan (and first reported by The Real Deal), the condo board details a slew of unsavory situations including safety hazards, a faulty faux-limestone facade, unpleasant odors entering the units through the fireplaces, rusty Juliet balconies covered in corrosion and water leaks (to name a few).
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Additionally, the board suggests the sponsor may have provided wonky warranties, noting, “Sponsor has failed to provide to Plaintiff warranties for the roof and for the building facades.” Of course, this isn’t the first time management is hearing of resident gripes, with the suit stating, “Despite repeated notices by the Residential Unit Owners and Plaintiff, the Sponsor has ignored the numerous construction defects and hazardous conditions in the Building.”
The bottom line, according to the board? “The Condominium Units and common areas suffer from numerous unsafe, non-code compliant, and defective conditions that, in turn, have resulted in damage to property, economic loss, and, upon information and belief, diminution of the value of the individual Residential Units.” Words no developer wants to hear!
The board is targeting the firm’s big guns — including the estate of its now-deceased founder and political power player, Leonard Litwin. In addition to a smattering of lawsuits regarding building safety over the years, Glenwood has also received discrimination complaints — ultimately agreeing to “pay the complainants $100,000, to adopt a reasonable accommodation policy, to undergo fair-housing training, and to provide periodic reports to the United States” back in 2019.
As noted, Glenwood Management is primarily known for its luxury rentals in “Manhattan’s finest neighborhoods,” which includes the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side, Midtown East and Midtown West. Their properties are large in scale, offering full-service amenities and more. They secured the land to build 60 East 86th Street with a $31 million investment back in 2013.
At the moment, there’s a 2,225 square-foot apartment in the building on sale for $8.495 million.
