[3] A five-story residential building at 33 West 63rd Street, a tenement constructed in the 1890s owned by Jehiel R. Elyachar, became the target of an effort by Paul Milstein to assemble a group of properties that would become the site of 1 Lincoln Plaza.

Though a verbal agreement had been reached, Elyachar insisted that a donation of $100,000 be made to one of the charitable organizations he supported, at which point Milstein walked away and said "You know what, you're going to keep your building".

Howard Milstein, Paul's son, called the negotiations as being "among the most glaring examples of someone who overplayed their hand".

[2][5] In January 2012, actor Nick Santino, a resident, committed suicide soon after euthanizing his pit bull Rocco, due to pressure from what some neighbors told the press was harassment by building management.

The condominium board had enacted a ban on pit bulls in 2010, though Santino's dog had been allowed to remain through grandfathering.