As residents begin to move into two new luxury towers on 99th Street and Broadway, the buildings continue to stir tensions in the community.

The Ariel East and West Towers belong to the Extell Development Company, and stand at looming heights of 37 and 31 stories, respectively. Controversy over the height of the towers, which began construction in 2005, led to a drive to limit building heights in the neighborhood through new zoning regulations which were approved by the City Council in late November.

The glass towers contain a total of 137 condominiums-—64 in Ariel East and 73 in Ariel West.

In addition to these 2-5 bedroom units, the luxury towers feature a range of amenities, including a swimming pool, private theater, fitness center, billiard’s lounge, children’s playroom, pet spa, and garden. Prices for the condos start at $1.6 million, according to Extell.

Despite such steep prices, the Ariel Towers have attracted a good number of buyers. According to Ann Young, the senior managing director at the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group, Ariel East is 63 percent sold, while 72 percent of the units in Ariel West have already been purchased. As of two weeks ago, Ariel East is open for residents to move in.

“We’re very proud of our product—it’s a beautiful product,” said Young. “It’s also integrating nicely in the neighborhood.”

But many neighborhood residents remain anxious about the opening of the Extell buildings. Cynthia Doty, a member of the Steering Committee of the Westsiders for Responsible Development, voiced concerns regarding the effect that the high-priced condos would have on local residential properties and businesses.

“We’re very disappointed that the towers are virtually finished,” Doty said. “The apartments are so expensive, up to $5 million, and these dramatic prices have collateral impacts. Base rent and property values are going up so high that there is a squeeze on the middle and low-income people of the neighborhood that have been the back burner of the community.”

Tom DeMott, the leader of the Coalition to Preserve Community, vocalized similar fears about the effects of Extell’s new development.

“There is a basic formula which luxury housing brings with it: high towers equals displacement, displacement of both businesses and residents,” DeMott said. “Luxury housing means disruption of a community.”

Critics of the Ariel Towers have not limited themselves to criticizing the towers’ impact on real estate and commerce, but have also pointed out the physical disturbance these new buildings have created.

“The new towers are monstrous and out of scale, and quite frankly an eye sore,” Doty said. “You can see them even from New Jersey and the East Side and architecturally they’re so different—they don’t even belong in our neighborhood.”

Yet anxiety about the project did lead to group efforts and “actually mobilized the community,” according to Doty.

“The outrage was very great two and a half years ago when we first saw the pictures. We were so horrified,” she said. “First we tried to stop it, but they could build them out of right, so there was nothing we could do legally. So we turned to rezoning the area to protect the community as much as we could.”

The recently passed zoning laws reflect these efforts, restricting development from 97th and 110th Streets, between Riverside Drive and Central Park West. Now, the side streets in the area are allotted a height of 75 feet, or seven to eight stories, while the respective avenues are allowed development up to 14 stories high.

Critics of the Ariel Towers seem optimistic about preserving their neighborhood in the future with this rezoning.

“These new laws have downzoned the area, made it difficult to sell air rights and, as a result, allow for development that is much more contextual,” Doty said.

The reporters of this article can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com.