Governments and companies around the world are wanting for oil right now.
But real estate investor Jack Rosen is claiming he has too much on his Upper East Side property. A lawsuit filed by an LLC tied to 18 East 85th Street, the townhouse owned by the head of real estate firm Rosen Partners, accuses the condo building next door of allowing an oil spill from a fuel delivery to permeate his property.
The complaint says he is seeking $40 million from the condo board at 30 East 85th Street, a 30-story, 92-unit building built in 1987.
He claims that the spill happened on Jan. 13, 2025, after a fuel delivery from Approved Oil. The condo stores its fuel in an above-ground storage tank, and the spill resulted from the piping from the tank failing, according to the complaint, which claims that the piping was not properly protected from corrosion.
The suit also accuses the board of failing to conduct state-mandated “tank tightness” tests.
Under New York’s Navigation Law Act, the condo board is responsible for cleaning up a petroleum spill and is liable for damages, the complaint says. Rosen claims he hired an environmental services firm, but the board did not allow them to determine the scope of the damage, which he alleges could spread to neighboring properties and surrounding groundwater.
Rosen claims the oil discharge has contaminated the soil, and the defendants refuse to clean it.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation added the spill, with Rosen’s address, to its public database after receiving a call on Jan. 28, 2025.
The complaint also named Wallack Management, the building’s property manager, and Approved Oil Company of Brooklyn.
Wallack Management and a representative for the condo board did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Approved Oil was not reachable for comment.
Developed by the Zucker Organization, the condo on the corner of Madison Avenue and 85th Street was one of the best-selling buildings of the 2010s. In 2017, it topped CityRealty’s list of best-performing condo projects in the city with a compound annual growth rate of 6.5 percent based on closing data from 2006 to 2016.
Toll Brothers co-founder Robert Toll lived in the building’s triplex penthouse for decades before listing the home for $22 million in 2022, but ultimately sold it for just $8.5 million in 2024.
Rosen Partners is a real estate developer with a portfolio of condos, multi-family buildings and mixed-use properties spanning the world. Its developments in the city include condos at 254 Park Avenue South and 56 Pine Street, and an 88-key hotel at 6 Columbus Circle.
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