Those Responsible For Massive Billboard On UWS Bldg. May Escape Fines, If It’s Taken Down

A massive billboard advertising luxury condos at 720 West End Ave. has drawn the ire of UWS residents, leading to an inspection by the Department of Buildings. On Jan. 30, they determined that it was unlawfully constructed, and ordered it to be taken down within 45 days or face hefty fines.

The billboard was erected without a permit and exceeded the maximum permissible parameters for a sign in a residential neighborhood, the DOB found, according to a newsletter issued by UWS Council Member Gale Brewer. The agency also reportedly determined that the billboard was impermissibly attached to the netting of a scaffold, penalizing the contractor DHS Fraco LLC, which is responsible for the shed.

In a letter addressed to DOB Commissioner James Oddo on Jan. 29, Brewer wrote that “I cannot believe such a large billboard is legal.” She noted that she was writing “on behalf of constituents who are upset about the massive advertisement.” The letter was written one day before the inspection, meaning that Council Member Brewer plausibly triggered it.

In its Jan. 30 order, the DOB gave the project’s developers–Glacier Equities and InterVest Capital Partners–45 days to take down the billboard. This means the huge ad must come down by mid-March. If not, the developers will be hit with “aggravated summonses,” which according to Brewer comes with “higher penalties.”

Reached for comment by The Spirit, the DOB clarified that standard potential penalties for the billboard’s specific violations range from $1,250 to $2,500. They will reportedly be adjudicated by a Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) judge. These violations are also curable. In other words, if the developer brings the billboard into compliance with city building codes by mid-March, the penalties would be dropped.

The violation and potential fines include: work without a permit (standard potential penalty $1,250); Sign exceeds maximum square footage for residential district (standard potential penalty $2,500); Sign exceeds maximum height for a residential district (standard potential penalty $2,500); Unlawful sign on a protective structure (standard potential penalty $2,500). The first three penalties will be issued to the building owner. The fourth, for an unlawful sign on a protective structure, will be issued to the scaffolding shed contractor.

When The Spirit visited the site on Feb. 15, workers were milling around the site, and a construction hoist ferrying them to the roof was in regular use. The billboard, however, remains untouched.

Brewer has a long history of opposing not only any overlarge billboard advertisement at 720 West End Ave., but the entire reimagining of the building itself.

The building was owned by The Salvation Army and housed the beloved Williams Residence Senior Home until 2015, when the charitable organization sold it for $108 million to the luxury developer Brack Capital.

When that sale was originally announced in 2014, Council Member Brewer–who was the Manhattan Borough President at the time–famously called it a “disgrace.” An article in The Spirit also detailed then-State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman‘s vigorous opposition to the sale, which he called “highly controversial.”

Despite this political opposition, the sale was not derailed. In fact, according to a report in The Real Deal, 720 West End Ave. was flipped again in 2021 for $165 million. An “affiliate” of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, then known as Wafra Capital Partners, took over the property from Brack Capital.

In September of 2022, Wafra rebranded as InterVest Capital Partners. By December of that year, they had filed plans for the current condo project at 720 West End Ave., which made it the second largest project of its kind in Manhattan that year.

That project is now seemingly scheduled to open in the spring, and will contain 131 units. A project website, which prominently features the same glamorous photo of a lounging fashion model that the billboard does, boasts of the “grand welcome through a restored Renaissance Revival entrance” that reportedly awaits buyers.

“Explore the pre-war charm of West End Avenue and take in Hudson River views from new angles. Discover a neighborhood anew, where progress is beautiful,” the website adds. Buyers that are “UWS Curious” are encouraged to submit their contact information.

Meanwhile, actual longtime UWSers no doubt remain curious as to whether the “720 WEA” billboard will be removed, as instructed.