Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office sent out subpoenas — via the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit — last week to several players involved in the deal.
Karen Hinton, a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio, said the city welcomes any investigation.
"I don’t know if anyone in City Hall received a subpoena, but we will cooperate with the AG’s investigation, any investigation, because we want to get to the bottom of what happened," she told the Journal.
As previously reported, a city agency removed deed restrictions on the former Rivington Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation last November that limited the building’s use to a not-for-profit residential health-care facility.
Several months after paying the city $16 million to lift the deed restriction, the building’s owner, the Allure Group, sold the property to a developer for $116 million. The developer, the Slate Property Group, plans to create 100 luxury residences on the property that overlooks Sara S. Roosevelt Park on the Lower East Side.
Last week, the city OK'd a partial demolition permit for the building...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvUiMqIxiYtm2IrjUQXWbdZcGTFvLAsuchFeiPQCpIAtmsYUAIeTZ03xKKBQBEuTcUhb8x5wuIA5G-McsIit8twd7AQDrMUjaaduLQvOz1_D8C1QE49-JP5DejgyAGHAiMgGG1-g2aL-r/s400/3-30.png)
However, that was short-lived...Yesterday, the Borough Commissioner placed a full Stop Work Order on the property...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgC7QozbKV4DhjJwNztNxNhJ-idtYGSAE7wivbFEN_vGME9yW8WpjtUpfO2W_jHL1toIKXqZF5M4u16LE4Cfm82_PfbidJHmh3zoG6b8DhVsCNT-Tc7fAqzqYcESmdpexMeAlHSmISM2W/s400/4-5.png)
[Click for to go big]
Meanwhile, this morning at 11, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council member Margaret Chin and CB3 chair Gigi Li are holding a news conference outside the building at 45 Rivington St. (at Forsyth).
Per The Lo-Down, the three "will be calling on Mayor de Blasio’s administration to compensate the Lower East Side community for the loss of Rivington House."
The Lo-Down has really been all over this story. They spoke with powerful lobbyist James Capalino, a key player in this story to date.
Updated 3 p.m.
DNAinfo has coverage of today's press conference here. ... and Curbed's coverage is here.