Design Of New Inwood Building Rejected After Community Pushback

INWOOD, NY — A design for a controversial new building in Inwood was rejected Wednesday by the Board of Standards and Appeals.

For a few years, developers have been trying to get plans approved to construct a new nine-story building at 22 to 38 Cumming St.

The building was strongly opposed by community members, though, including the Lower Seaman Avenue Tenants' Association, which created a petition earlier in the process to voice its displeasure.

The tenant's association listed the following two reasons as its main opposition to the development.

• The building would be significantly taller than those around it.
• The original design did not include new parking options.

Here's what the same area looked like in 2019.

People on Upper Manhattan's Facebook groups also voiced their opposition to the building's design.

"I look at these buildings and see that Inwood will be ruined," one uptowner wrote. "I loved our building that was only 5/6 stories high. People got to know their neighbors. Buildings like this are cold and impersonal."

While the Board of Standards and Appeals didn't approve the developer's design on Wednesday, it doesn't mean the process is over.

The board told the developer to spend four months making revisions and to come back with a new design.

Patch will provide a new story when those revisions come.