Boutique hotelier Ian Schrager (of Studio 54 fame), along with a few investors, recently purchased 215 Chrystie Street for a cool $50 million. The empty lot will include a 25-story tower with a hotel on the first 17 floors and condos on the rest. The land previously served as a garden for low-income tenants in a neighboring building, but a deal was reached to allow the development to move forward.

The nearby Sperone Westwater Gallery is arguing that the new building will block light into the gallery, and its owners have hired a high-profile environmental law attorney to try and stop the hotel construction.