NEW YORK, NY May 24, 2009 —The former owner of a once majestic apartment complex on Manhattan's West Side has agreed to pay the city more than a million dollars for neglecting the Windermere, a landmarked property.

REPORTER: Attorney John Weiss from the Landmarks Preservation Commission says the settlement is the largest penalty ever recovered for such a violation.

WEISS: And it's very significant because it sends a very strong message to other owners of Landmarks that if they are thinking of neglecting their buildings so that they fall into extreme disrepair there obviously is no financial incentive to do that.]

REPORTER: As part of the settlement, a new owner has agreed to make major repairs on the apartment complex by October. The Windermere, on 9th Avenue and 57th Street, was built in 1881 to accommodate a growing middle class. It later served as a rooming house for women. It was also partly converted into a Single Room Occupancy. The last tenants to live in the Windermere were vacated by the Fire Department in 2007.