{"id":81115,"date":"2025-12-25T21:27:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T21:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/81115\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T21:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T21:27:09","slug":"exclusive-neighbors-sue-220-central-park-south-over-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/81115\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Neighbors sue 220 Central Park South over construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ultra-luxury Billionaires\u2019 Row tower at 220 Central Park South \u2014 famously home to hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin\u2019s record-breaking $238 million quadplex purchase<\/a> in 2019 \u2014 is being sued by its next-door neighbor, Gainsborough Studios, for damage caused by years of heavy-duty construction.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the developer of the supertall property had promised to pay for all such damage \u2014 but now the developer, Vornado Realty Trust, is refusing to honor its agreement, said Gainsborough Studios\u2019 lawyer, Peter T. Salzler<\/a> of Braverman Greenspun.<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios at 222 Central Park South, a landmarked co-op dating from 1908, is suing for no less than $3 million worth of repairs.<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios (center) has sued its Billionaires\u2019 Row supertall tower 220 Central Park South over pricey construction repairs \u2014 seeking at least $3 million. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

220 Central Park South, home to the priciest residential deal in American history, is the sole supertall edifice on Billionaires\u2019 Row actually on Central Park. Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP<\/p>\n

220 Central Park South is home to titans of finance, such as the billionaire Ken Griffin, whose $238 purchase there in 2019 continues to hold that record. Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I\u2019d never heard the name Vornado,\u201d said Donald Denton, a 20-year Gainsborough resident, of No. 220\u2019s developer. \u201cThey made a lot of money and left us with a lot of repairs, and they haven\u2019t lived up to their end of the bargain.\u201d Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios remains covered in scaffolding since repairs for the facade and cornice remain. This image shows a crack in its wall, which happened during the construction of the neighboring development. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

Denton points to the scaffold that still surrounds the building where he\u2019s lived for decades. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

The construction started more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

A \u201cmassive pit\u201d was blasted through bedrock when excavation for 220 Central Park South began in 2014, the complaint, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, says. The colossal new edifice, which comprises an 18-story villa section plus the 70-story tower, wraps around two sides of Gainsborough Studios, on an L-shaped site. It replaced a nondescript postwar apartment house, demolished in 2012.<\/p>\n

By the end of that year, the complaint adds, the 16-story Gainsborough Studios had twisted by shifting downward and eastward \u2014 moving nearly an inch at the top. The building later faced pricey repair costs for foundation cracks, broken windows, chipped skylights, clogged air conditioning and damage to its historic facade, the complaint says. The damage has now been fixed \u2014 at Gainsborough\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I\u2019d never heard the name Vornado,\u201d said Donald Denton, a 20-year Gainsborough resident. \u201cThey made a lot of money and left us with a lot of repairs, and they haven\u2019t lived up to their end of the bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c220 Central Park South featured sales of some of the most expensive residential real estate in New York City\u2019s history and netted [Vornado] nearly $3.5 billion in combined sales prices,\u201d the complaint reads. Overall, the development cost nearly $1.5 billion<\/a> to construct, according to the Real Deal.<\/p>\n

The $3 million sought is \u201can infinitesimal fraction of the profits reaped by [Vornado], yet [Vornado] chose to abandon its contractual obligation to reimburse the Co-op for any damage caused by its construction,\u201d the complaint further says.<\/p>\n

With its prime park-front location, No. 220 offers its deep-pocketed residents full views of Central Park. Courtesy of Nest Seekers International<\/p>\n

The ultra-luxury development also has spa-like bath retreats to match. Will Ellis of Donna Dotan<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios was built as a live\/work space for artists in the early 20th century. Today, it still boasts a charming old-world elevator. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

In court papers, Vornado\u2019s lawyer wrote in reply that Vornado was \u201cnot responsible.\u201d If there were any damages, they \u201cwere caused by the intervening acts of third parties.\u201d Vornado\u2019s lawyer, Thomas Cerussi of Cerussi & Spring<\/a>, did not respond to The Post\u2019s requests for comment, nor did Vornado.<\/p>\n

A developer in the city generally signs a legal access agreement allowing it to encroach upon adjacent properties while work proceeds. A negotiated payment usually includes compensation for assorted fees, damage and the inconveniences of living with the mess of construction.<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios, originally built with living and working spaces for artists, granted such access for its towering new neighbor, which is the only Billionaires\u2019 Row development actually located along Central Park. Agreements were signed in 2008 and 2014, the complaint says.<\/p>\n

Vornado representatives were \u201cextremely nice going into this,\u201d Denton told The Post. \u201cBut these people have been nothing but hostile since they got to a point where they didn\u2019t need us anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Department of Building records show 220 Central Park South has three underground levels, descending 50 feet below the sidewalk, which required an extensive excavation to penetrate through the dense bedrock beneath.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the hole was going to go to China,\u201d Denton said. \u201cIt proceeded with pounding every day and blasting with the whistle going off.\u201d<\/p>\n

(The city requires several loud warning signals before the explosives are detonated \u2014 one long whistle for \u201cpreparing to blast,\u201d two short whistles for \u201cready to blast\u201d and three short whistles for \u201call clear.\u201d)<\/p>\n

No. 220 wraps around Gainsborough Studios, at No. 222, on an L-shaped site. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

Workers at No. 220 used the Gainsborough roof as a staging area, according to the complaint, causing damage and leaks \u2014 issues that continue to rankle Denton. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

Gainsborough Studios stands 16 stories tall, while its neighbor scrapes the sky with a 70-story portion. Tamara Beckwith<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the workers for No. 220 used the Gainsborough roof as a staging area, according to the complaint, causing damage and leaks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just a small building and basically got molested by the whole thing,\u201d Denton told The Post. \u201cYou would think that, with the success Vornado had, they would be a little compassionate. They could have never done their work unless we gave them the permission to do it, and that permission went with a guarantee from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denton, who is retired, ran an investment firm and also has a home in Florida. \u201cVornado basically twisted the whole building,\u201d he said. \u201cMy doors don\u2019t shut properly. I had a lot of work done to get them back to where they are usable, but they are nowhere near the way they were before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since COVID, sales at Gainsborough Studios, which houses 20 units, have been in the $1 to $3.6 million range. The building, with double-height north-facing windows to let in light, was landmarked in 1988.<\/p>\n

Its soaring next-door neighbor, No. 220, holds 118 luxury condominium units. A 6,000-square-foot home is currently listed<\/a> for $87.5 million. Nine of the 20 most expensive New York City sales of all time <\/a>were in the exclusive edifice, including the city\u2019s top residential sale in 2025, for $82.5 million<\/a>. Storage units cost up to $211,000<\/a> and wine cellars up to $287,000, as reported by City Realty.<\/p>\n

Nine of the 20 priciest New York City residential sales of all time were in the exclusive edifice. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

Vornado claims that Gainsborough\u2019s roof needed replacing anyway, according to Denton. \u201cThey say it was an old roof,\u201d he said. \u201cGainsborough Studios has been impeccably maintained since it achieved historic landmark status. These people made a whole mess of the place. They have been totally disrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a good developer \u2014 no question about that \u2014 but they were disturbing us terribly,\u201d said Tod Williams, president of Gainsborough\u2019s co-op board. His architectural office \u2014 Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects<\/a> \u2014 is on the ground floor. Though the building shifted less than an inch, he said, \u201cit felt like a seismic shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and the architects in his studio suffered through the blasts that shook the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pounding and explosions and whistles were extremely unnerving,\u201d Williams told The Post. \u201cPeople were traumatized. It was very impactful and very difficult. For more than a year we had to use noise-canceling headphones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe assumed Vornado would be honorable,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI was hopeful this would be a nice relationship and they would take care of the damages swiftly and without question, but enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ultra-luxury Billionaires\u2019 Row tower at 220 Central Park South \u2014 famously home to hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31752,1527,2850,1023,9,24,55,54,56,1491,3006,4316],"class_list":["post-81115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-central-park-south","tag-construction","tag-lawsuits","tag-luxury-real-estate","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-real-estate","tag-residential-real-estate","tag-vornado-realty-trust"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}