A provider has lost out in a years-long court battle with its neighbors to build a new nursing home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
The New Jewish Home’s plans to build a 20-story skilled nursing facility were quashed last week by an appellate panel of state judges. This came after the provider had already gained approval from the city’s zoning board and buildings department, Crain’s New York Business reports.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Appellate Division’s decision,” Bruce Nathanson, senior vice president of the New Jewish Home, said in a statement, pointing out that their space calculations had already undergone three separate independent reviews by the city.
The provider had planned to construct the “state-of-the art” Living Center of Manhattan on a parking lot along West 97th street. It was dubbed as a “radical departure” from traditional SNFs, using the Green House model, with skilled nursing facilities designed and operated as independent homes.
But it was slated for a block that also contained a slew of commercial, municipal, religious and apartment buildings. Residents at the nearby Park West Village fought the project, arguing that its construction would deprive the neighborhood of open space. A zoning board disagreed, but last week’s decision overturns that decision, Crain’s reports.
New Jewish Home had argued that a private roof atop a separate residential building counted as open space.
It’s unclear whether the city will appeal the decision to a higher court. Nathanson, for his part, said, “While we will consider our options regarding this decision, The New Jewish Home remains 100 percent committed to serving older adults in New York City.”
