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April 6, 2007
Lawsuit over environmental review would require ESDC, PACB, and MTA to take another look
Atlantic Yards Report
Does the lawsuit filed yesterday have a shot at forcing the Empire State Development Corporation to redo the Environmental Impact Statement?
Lawsuits that allege flaws in environmental reviews are generally tough going. Still, said Candace Carponter (right), co-chair of petitioner Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) and legal chair of fellow petitioner Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), “This isn’t a sole-issue challenge. We’re saying they forgot to take a hard look at 13 issues.” Among them: a failure to examine terrorist impacts and a finding of blight "in one of the hottest real estate markets in New York City."
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“Do we think it will change the project once it goes back to the ESDC?” Carponter said. “That’s what we’re hopeful for.” She observed, "It is striking to note that the ESDC did not demand or effectuate even one significant change or modification of the project Forest City Ratner proposed at the start of the environmental review process."“This is a different PACB than it was last December,” added attorney Adam Perlmutter.
Norman Oder outlines some of the premises of the lawsuit: the timeline, the plaintiffs (and those who haven't joined the suit), the claims and the plaintiffs' attempt to convince the judge to issue a preliminary injunction against further demolitions.
Posted by lumi at April 6, 2007 9:37 AM