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Judge Denies Condo's Request to Stop Construction of Midtown Spa Castle

 Spa Castle 57 is expected to open at 115 E. 57th St. in late November.
Spa Castle 57 is expected to open at 115 E. 57th St. in late November.
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Facebook/Spa Castle Premier

MIDTOWN — A judge denied a condo board's request to stop construction of Spa Castle's new Manhattan outpost, despite a lawsuit saying the facility would block out air and light and expose neighors to noise and nudity.

Ritz Tower condo, at 495 Park Ave., sued Spa Castle for building its Midtown outpost too high and for “violat[ing] public morals” by exposing neighbors to “nudity-friendly" views, according to a lawsuit filed State Supreme Court on Nov. 5.

However, Justice Jeffrey Oing, the presiding judge, denied the condo board's request for a temporary restraining order on Thursday. 

"...[We] will vigorously defend against the lawsuit," Spa Castle Premier 57 wrote in a statement. “Regarding the rooftop area in question, full nudity is not permitted outside of the facility’s designated male and female lockers rooms and bathing area."

Spa Castle is currently building out on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors at 115 E. 57th St. and installing parapet walls, three hot tubs and six foot-soaking stations on a cabana-style roof, according to the lawsuit.

The spa is expected to open in The Galleria building later this month.

The board of the 129-unit condo — where 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath apartments go for $4.2 million — says the spa’s rooftop walls are violating a 1974 easement agreement by blocking "light, air and view over a portion of the Galleria building," the complaint says.

The walls also violate a stipulation of the agreement that keeps the owner from building higher than 82.5 feet above sidewalk level, according to the lawsuit.

In addition, the board sent a cease and desist letter on Sept. 12, but the spa only accelerated construction by beginning work as early as 7 a.m. and working through weekends, the lawsuit states.

Spa Castle has an outpost in College Point, Queens. The new Midtown branch is exected to include a water lounge, hydrotherapy pools, and a variety of saunas, including an infrared sauna and gold sauna.