Construction is already under way on a 15-story condo tower in the far West Village, but neighbors are hoping to stall the project with environmental lawsuits long enough to kill it.
Jean-Louis Bourgeois, an author of architecture books and the son of sculptor Louise Bourgeois, is leading the fight against what he dismisses as a “tower being built so the super-rich can look at the river.”
Among the suits he plans to file: a claim that the building’s 95 parking spaces will violate the Clean Air Act.
The site at 150 Charles St., a block west of the Greenwich Village Historic District, is being developed by Steven Witkoff, who has already sold almost all 95 units — ranging from a two-bedroom apartment for $3.95 million to a penthouse that went for $34 million.
Bourgeois — who hopes to get neighbors such as Annie Leibovitz and Julian Schnabel involved — told me, “It’s my fault I didn’t get onto this sooner.” Better late than never.