International fashion designer Elie Tahari is suing the board of executives of an Upper East Side building for not letting him combine his two penthouses in a renovation project that he says has been in negotiation for years.
Tahari claims in the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed Friday that the building corporation at 860 Fifth Ave. has demanded “extortionate sums of money” from him in exchange for approval, even as “other apartment-combination projects are routinely granted.”
Tahari bought one penthouse in 1979 and an adjacent unit in 2011. He wants $50 million in damages and approval for his renovation plan.
A lawyer who reps the board did not immediately return a request for comment.