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January 19, 2006
Local Groups Sue to Halt Big Project in Brooklyn
The NY Times's reporter Nicholas Confessore covers the bases, with requisite quotes from all the players and this third-party opinion:
Philip Weinberg, a professor at St. John's University and an expert on the state's environmental review law, said the lawsuit faced "an uphill battle" in trying to get Mr. Paget disqualified. "There's nothing in the law or the regulations saying they can't have the same counsel," he said.
In general, he said, courts have tended to defer to public agencies on questions of fact, which might include whether the buildings are unsafe enough to warrant demolition. Still, Mr. Weinberg added, the agency "is supposed to play it down the middle," and "courts are supposed to step in if it doesn't pass the smell test."
Posted by lumi at January 19, 2006 8:35 AM