By CHARLIE KRAEBEL

Recorder Editor

The Long Island-based developer who wants to turn the former Chalmers knitting mills in Amsterdam into luxury apartments is now suing to block the buildings from being torn down.

Uri Kaufman filed a lawsuit Friday in Montgomery County Court, reportedly seeking at least $200,000 in damages. He also is reportedly asking the court to require the city to abide by the terms of a purchase option agreement signed in 2008, convey title to the property to his company, Albany Tech Center LLC, and issue a preliminary injunction to stop the impending demolition.

Kaufman did not return a phone call Friday, and Amsterdam Mayor Ann Thane declined comment Friday because she had not seen the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed a little more than a week after the city received word the complex had been put on the National Register of Historic Places.

City Corporation Counsel Gerard DeCusatis said Friday's filing does not automatically stop the demolition, which has already been approved by the state. He said a restraining order must be issued first in order to halt the project.

On Jan. 4, the Common Council awarded a contract for the remediation and demolition project to Ritter & Paratore Contracting Inc. for $1.7 million.

Field activities are scheduled to begin this month, with substantial demolition anticipated in early summer.

After the city received $1.4 million of Restore NY money for demolition in 2007, the state's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation reviewed the historical significance of the 100-year-old building and approved it for demolition.

The following year, Kaufman came forward with plans to convert the brick building in the complex on Amsterdam's South Side into luxury apartments. He made a $10 down payment and had a year to meet certain benchmarks or pay $50,000 to extend the option agreement.

In the meantime, Kaufman applied to put the complex on the historic registry. The Common Council later voted 4-1 to oppose the designation, a move vetoed by Thane.

The council failed to override the veto despite having enough votes to do so because lawmakers believed such a designation wouldn't affect demolition plans. Legislators terminated the deal in July 2009, a vote reaffirmed by the current Common Council when it was seated in January 2010.

First Ward Alderman Joseph Isabel, a member of the council in 2009, said he was "shocked" and "almost fell out of my chair" when he heard about Kaufman's lawsuit.

"No matter what happens, this is going to cost the city even more money," he said. "We're already under contract to tear the building down."

Looking back, Isabel said the previous council should have overridden Thane's veto of the opposition to the historic designation application, believing it would have helped the city move forward with the demolition.

"We don't move forward in this city because we're constantly rehashing issues over and over again," Isabel said. "This is going to start the divisions all over again. It's no wonder why we always look bad."

Contact CHARLIE KRAEBEL at ckraebel@recordernews.com