April 24, 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio City Hall New York, NY 10007 Dear Mayor de Blasio: We are writing to express our collective opposition to the New York City Department of Building's (DOB) decision to grant SJP Properties construction permits for “emergency work” at 200 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. On March 31, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order halting all non-essential construction work in New York State in an effort to flatten the coronavirus curve. Developers were given adequate time to wind down existing projects and properly secure their sites. While a majority of construction sites on the West Side complied with the order, SJP continued to apply to DOB for emergency permits to complete outstanding, non-emergency electrical work for nearly two weeks after the Governor’s Executive Order took effect. The site eventually closed on Thursday, April 9, 2020. Now, a mere two weeks later, the City is defying the Governor's Executive Order by granting nonemergency construction permits to developers who, in the face of this pandemic, deem it “necessary” to continue work, including the developers of 200 Amsterdam Avenue. If the work is actually still necessary for safety reasons, why does SJP have a plan to gradually increase its workforce to a total of 45 construction workers over the next week? What is the timeline for completion of this work? Why did SJP close its site two weeks ago if outstanding emergency electrical and exterior work truly existed? How did these serious concerns become an emergency only yesterday? Is DOB mandating that all sites complete their unfinished facades during the pandemic, or does this issue somehow apply only to 200 Amsterdam? As a reminder, SJP was ordered by the New York State Supreme Court to remove floors, not complete them. This site has been operating on a public trust deficit for years. SJP is no longer just skirting zoning regulations, they are actively putting construction workers, their families and New York City residents in harm’s way by prioritizing profit over people’s health, and the City is rubber-stamping these deplorable actions. We request that the City revoke all permits related to construction at 200 Amsterdam immediately, and demand that the DOB act in a more transparent manner when issuing permits to construction sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sincerely, Hon. Linda B. Rosenthal New York State Assemblymember Hon. Jerrold Nadler U.S. Representative Hon. Scott M. Stringer New York City Comptroller Hon. Gale Brewer Manhattan Borough President Hon. Brad Hoylman New York State Senator Hon. Helen Rosenthal New York City Councilmember Hon. Richard Gottfried New York State Assemblymember