Top officials in the de Blasio administration knew plans were in the works as early as the middle of 2015 to remove deed restrictions on a Lower East Side nursing home later sold to developers who wanted to build a luxury condo, according to a new report.
The New York Times said the Department of Citywide Administrative Services had sent memos to First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris saying it was working on removing the restrictions after its owner, Allure Group, offered the city $16.15 million.
Allure, the for-profit nursing home company that owned the building, then sold it, making about $72 million on the deal.
The administration has claimed it found out about the condo plans only in February.
The Times said it obtained two memos to Shorris in May and July 2015. One said the DCAS is “proceeding to remove two use restrictions.”
One restriction limited its use to nonprofits, and the other said the building must be used as a health care facility.