Exclusive | NYC development left as blockwide hole in the ground because of flap with neighbor over routine safety access: Never seen that before

A planned 200-unit development on the Upper East Side has been left as a block-wide hole in the ground as the builder clashes with a neighbor over routine safety access.The builder of the apartment complex at 355 E.86th St.

is suing its neighboring four-story walkup after its owners demanded $20,000 for the acces, leaving the future of the development in limbo.“I’ve never seen that before, and I specialize in this area of law,” Eli Raider, attorney for the developers, said.But a lawyer for the tiny neighbor said his client is just refusing their Goliath neighbors from being a “bully.”The massive corner lot was once a slew of buildings housing a dozen local businesses and roughly 30 apartments, and has long been eyed as a development project.The block was turned to rubble months ago to make way for a pair of 23-story-buildings with 198 units on East 86th Street and First Avenue.But neighboring 1661 First Ave.is asking the developer to fork tens of thousands of dollars into an escrow account before it even considers signing onto an agreement to allow protective measures on its own property as part of the project, court documents reveal.Such lease agreements are of the norm in city building, especially when a new development rises above existing structures, and generally allow for contractors to inspect, survey and install protections during excavation and construction.Raider, who said he has penned “hundreds” of similar agreements all over the city, claimed that the neighbor’s behavior is anything but, and that their demands are “out of market.”A draft agreement was replaced with a document demanding twice as much — $20,000 — to be placed in escrow to cover any expenses, with no guarantee that the owners would co-sign an agreement, plus an immediate $5,000 paid to the lawyer and an engineer.“The bottom line is that we cannot sign this letter as it is unnecessarily and unreasonably duplicative of the escrow and license agreements that are ty...