Metro

Off the deep end

The newest homeowner in a landmarked Upper West Side neighborhood is making waves with his plan to install an in-ground backyard pool.

Neighbors are outraged that Turkish millionaire Ragip Ersin Akarlilar, owner of the pricey Mavi Jeans line, plans to turn the yard of his $4.3 million West 83rd Street town house into an urban oasis for his three kids.

Next-door neighbor Jonathan Stuart is spearheading a campaign to drain the pool plan.

“They are trying to pack too much into a little building and are going to ruin what exists,” said Stuart, who runs Only Hearts, a lingerie company. “These people are flamboyant billionaires, and they have no concern about the neighborhood.”

Stuart, along with other neighbors and several preservation groups, say it’s not just the noise of construction and kids splashing that has them up in arms, but a planned three-story steel deck for the pool. They claim it will ruin backyard vistas for everyone along the historic tree-lined back yards.

The pool itself will be four feet deep and take up about half of the 18-by-100-foot yard.

Neither the pool nor the deck would be visible from the sidewalk, but opponents claim the yards were landmarked in 1986 along with the building exteriors.

The “not in your back yard” battle is now playing out before the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has final say over whether Akarlilar, 41, can dig up the yard of the 1874 Italianate-style row house he bought in 2008.

The city commission could rule as early as tomorrow.

Stuart is also outraged that an apricot tree that straddles his and Akarlilar’s yard will be destroyed. He submitted a picture of an apricot crisp he baked as evidence to the LPC.

Preservation groups Landmark West! and the Historic Districts Council also oppose the pool plan.

Akarlilar’s spokeswoman said he is traveling in Turkey.

He did not respond to e-mails for comment.

There are a handful of outdoor in-ground pools on the grounds of landmarked buildings, according to the LPC.

“I do not think this is an outrageous project, and I do not think this is by any means out of the ordinary,” Akarlilar’s architect, Gilles Depardon, told the commission at a July 19 hearing.

And some of the commissioners seemed inclined to let the project go ahead if the deck portion is scaled back.

“I have no problem with the pool whatsoever. If the applicant follows city mandates, I think it’s actually a relatively exciting addition,” said Landmarks Commissioner Michael Devonshire.

Commission Chairman Robert Tierney said they will vote on the project after Akarlilar resubmits his plans tomorrow.

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