The Goddess of War won another battle this week.
A city appeals panel on Tuesday rejected a developer’s last-ditch effort to rescue his proposed South Slope condo tower — known as “The Minerva Building” because it threatens to block a historic view between the Green-Wood Cemetery monument and the Statue of Liberty (see circle in photo at right).
The city Department of Buildings blocked construction of the Robert Scarano-designed complex on the grounds that it is larger than allowed under new zoning.
Developer Chaim Nussencweig has been appealing that decision on the grounds that the foundation of the building was in place when the new zoning went into effect earlier this year.
To bolster his case, Nussencweig’s attorney gave the Board of Standards and Appeals new blueprints that he said had been “lost” by the Department of Buildings — evidence, he said, that the agency isn’t capable of judging whether the Minerva building’s foundation was or was not sufficiently completed.
But the BSA rejected Nussencweig’s argument, an interim step before the panel rules on the foundation question next month.
Minerva’s South Slope neighbors cheered the ruling.
“[Nussencweig] may be playing with the truth and the city picked up on it,” said Aaron Brashear, who has been fighting to preserve the low-scale character of his neighborhood since designs for 614 Seventh Ave. were unveiled.
