Developer Bruce Teitelbaum wants Pastor Al Sharpton out.
Lawyers for an entity affiliated with Teitelbaum filed a petition to evict Sharpton’s National Action Network from its headquarters on 145th Street in Harlem to make way for the long-awaited 1,000-unit apartment complex known as One45. NAN is located in a one-storey building which, along with other one- and two-storey retail buildings, will be demolished as part of the development.
NAN’s lease at 106-108 West 145th Street expired two years ago, but the term was extended six times, the developer’s attorney said. The most recent extension expired at the end of August, but the civil rights organization has not left.
The holdover petition was filed in September, and a NAN spokesperson said Friday that the organization has found a new location. But a lawyer for the development team said Friday that NAN has refused to leave.
“It is deeply disappointing – though unfortunately not surprising – that Rev. Sharpton is now refusing to leave the One45 site, despite more than a year of commitments and assurances that NAN would move,” attorney Michael Cohen, who represents Teitelbaum, said in a statement.
Cohen said NAN is the only tenant holding up the project. The developer hopes to qualify for the now expired property tax benefit 421a. To do this, the project must be completed by June 15, 2031. Delays threaten project financing and the developer’s ability to meet that deadline.
In a response filed with the court on October 28, a lawyer for NAN wrote that the organization had been given previous extensionsexpected the opportunity to do this again and received no further notice. The lawyer also claims that the developer has hampered his ability to move by “falsely publishing” that NAN is in rent arrears.
Cohen said NAN was notified months in advance “that they needed to move by August 31 so construction could begin.” A portion of the most recent lease renewal agreement viewed by The real deal stated that the tenant must vacate the premises at the end of the extension.
When reached on Friday, NAN downplayed the dispute.
“NAN has found a great location in Harlem and is working out the details,” a NAN spokesperson said in a statement. “NAN and the Landlord coordinate the last day for NAN at the existing location.”
It is not clear why the October 28 lawsuit shows that it is difficult to find a new location when NAN has already found one. Messages left for the attorney responsible for the filing were not returned.
When speaking about NAN’s statement, Cohen said the comments were “encouraging to hear” and that it was important that the matter was resolved “without further delay.”
Whatever the extent of their dispute, the parties have at least not yet agreed on when NAN will vacate its headquarters, potentially further delaying a project already facing several challenges.
After years of delays, the City Council approved One45 in July. The development is expected to consist of 1,000 units spread across three buildings. At least 338 of those apartments will be affordable. The developer agreed to negotiate with the city to potentially increase the number
affordable units up to 591, but the developer has made it clear that this will require government subsidies.
That approval came after Teitelbaum took the project through nearly the entire city’s land use review process, but withdrew it in 2022 when it became clear the local councilor would reject it. He revived the project after the state extended the construction completion deadline to make projects eligible for 421a and after a new council member was appointed.
At one point, plans for One45 included offices for NAN and a civil rights museum founded by Sharpton and Judge Jonathan Lippman. Those plans fell apart and the museum was pitched for another project, a deal that also fell through.
Read more
The Daily Dirt: The Continuing Story of One45
Councilor calls 40% affordable project ‘slap in the face’
#Developer #evict #Sharptons #National #Action #Network #One45 #project