Tenants of 711 West End Ave. have issued a press release explaining how the developers managed to secure construction permits that are widely believed to be unsafe, and would now be illegal.
Current NYC building codes for tenant protection don't allow developers to claim they're constructing a "new, unoccupied building" on an occupied site unless they vacate and demolish the existing building. But Kalikow (the developers at 711 W.E.A.) have done just that. They submitted their applications during a short window of time when NYC building codes weren't in effect.
We don't know why the codes weren't in effect during that time, or how Kalikow knew they could build their huge project around that short time gap.
Read the press release here. The PDF includes an independent engineer's report, which finds that the developer's Tenant Protection Plan (required by DOB) is deeply inadequate. It also includes information from tenants' meeting with DOB Commissioner Rebholz.