Thank you, Chair.
I intend on keeping my second intervention rather focused and brief.
I thank Mr. Bachrach and my colleague Mrs. Block for their comments. I will heartily agree with everything that was said.
In response to one of the Liberal members—I'm not sure exactly where this came from; it could have been Mr. Jowhari or Mr. Sousa—I want to remind members of several months ago when we had the selling and, I believe, the listing real estate agents from Manhattan who testified via Zoom. I was able to pull, through a very simple Google search, the actual listing of 550 Park Avenue, Unit 12E.
I want to read this into the record and I'll make some brief commentary. It says under the word “Description”:
High Floor Golden Age Masterpiece
Introducing Unit 12E at 550 Park Avenue, a high-floor residence in one of Lenox Hill's premier pre-war co-ops. More images coming soon!
A perfect example of the grand Golden Age apartments of the 1920s, this J.E.R. Carpenter masterpiece is full of volume, scale, and ideal circulation. A great room with 11' ceilings and large windows that frame exposures to the north and east invite you into the heart of the home, while the adjacent dining room could comfortably host down a dinner of 18. Designed for hospitality, a commercial kitchen and butler's pantry are further complimented by direct access to a separate staff office and storage room, as well as the in-unit laundry. A den/library just off the entrance gallery, as well as a powder room, complete the northern wing. Along the southern corridor, four bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms and walk-in closets, and two with corner exposures offer privacy and comfort. With its high ceilings, large windows, herringbone walnut floors, and ample storage throughout, this residence offers the perfect framework for generation living and is truly a space to behold.
It's 3,800 square feet, 12 rooms, five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.
Now, according to Tom Clark, within two months of his post, this example I have just provided committee members wasn't suitable for hosting, let alone living.
I asked the listing agent whether or not, in his opinion, this description constituted a fixer-upper, because the government will have you believe that this unit required over $2 million in renovations. No one has given us an itemized list of what needed to be renovated. No one has given us a cost projection. No one has given us any information, other than a GAC official who confirmed that it wasn't compliant in terms of wheelchair access to a bathroom. The entranceway needed to be widened. That is the only evidence this committee has heard of any so-called two million dollars' worth of renovations.
I wish to put that on the record, because clearly, there are more questions than there are answers, and the only way we can get to the bottom of Tom Clark's involvement, his true involvement, is to recall him with a full cross-examination.
Thank you, Chair.