Photo source: RealDeal.com
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Israeli born real estate developer Ben Shaoul has been ordered to remove the penthouse that he recently added to a Greenwich Village building because it was found to be in violation of New York City regulations.
It’s not hard to see why the penthouse was controversial as it stands out like a sore thumb above the height line of the neighboring buildings. Also, its brown brick façade contrasts sharply with the red bricks of the rest of the building. One wonders why Shaoul chose to do it that way.
But the reason for the demolition order, according to the board, was one of safety and also because Shaoul failed to add a new elevator to the building as required when he expanded it.
New York’s Board of Standards and Appeals has given Shaoul 60 days to remove the penthouse located at the top of 515 East 5th Street in the East Village. The final ruling came six years after he was first ordered to do so, but the developer delayed the inevitable thanks to appeals. The order came in spite of the fact that the addition had received the approval of New York’s Department of Buildings.
515 East 5th Street in the East Village currently has 7 floors and after the removal it will return to its former size of just 6 floors. It is a rental apartment building managed by Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate Group.
In other Ben Shaoul news, the developer has acquired the Orchard-Houston Block of real estate from the Magnano family. He is expected to tear down the buildings there to build a new tower.
