Construction at the Trump Palace Condo at 200 East 69th Street has caused a legal stir after the building’s board of managers filed a lawsuit against their ground-floor retail tenants with the NY County Supreme Court.
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The board of the luxury residential building is suing Regency Centers and its commercial tenants—grocery store Whole Foods Market and discount store Five Below, both of which will have the alternate address of 1175 Third Avenue—over alleged sustained damages caused by reckless construction. The retail space was formerly home to a large Food Emporium which closed in March 2023. Whole Foods announced they would be turning their 9,709 square foot share of the space into a smaller format store with grab-n-go items and weekly essentials.
The condo board together with its property management company, Orsid New York, claim that the construction work done by Regency Centers has caused significant damage to the building’s structure, therefore posing a safety risk to all residents. The board seeks a temporary restraining order and at least $1.5 million in damages.
According to the summons and verified complaint filed on August 12, the construction activities showed a serious disregard for the building’s structural integrity and residents, resulting in significant, ongoing damage. Among the dozens of specific examples, the summons notably cites careless demolition that cut through sprinkler lines, resulting in flooding in the basement, electrical room, machine room, and garage. They also reference improper core drilling, electrical conduit damage, water damage, mud intrusion, and gas leaks.
Despite the mounting safety concerns, the suit alleges that Regency Centers remained uncooperative with requests to address the issues. The condo board’s attorney, Deborah Riegel of Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., spoke with Crain’s New York Business and stated that the board had attempted to resolve the problems out of court but felt compelled to take legal action due to the tenants’ dismissive attitude.
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Regency Centers has also been accused of failing to file an approved Tenant Protection Plan, falsely stating that there are no residents in the building, even though the building has 283 occupied residential apartments across its 55 stories.
The Trump Palace condo board emphasizes that they are not trying to remove the tenants but are deeply concerned about the residents’ safety. The board subsequently filed a preliminary injunction to stop Regency Centers and anyone working with them from engaging in further construction activities.
Crains spoke with Regency’s managing director of the Northeast, Jack deVilliers, who “declined to comment on pending litigation.”
Make 3rd Ave great again!
I would think that Jason Buechel , Jeff Bezos and Joel D Anderson should had construction insurance with Regency Centers to do these constructions and all the legal documents needed as they work on this site? The Condo board need to stop with this mess. Before that space stays empty. Who else will pay For that space. If I think about it you have a grocery store down the block called Grace right? It good for the highschoolers, College kids and people headed to the hospital to pick up there items for work or for a quick bite . Five below has items for kids and others . It prime retail estate for both stores. They don’t want the stores in the space because of what it will bring. Mostly cops from stealing. If I had to play devil advocate for a second. I could be off base. I wish all parties good luck. I’ll be read on this to see the outcome.