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April 17, 2007
PRESS RELEASE: Forest City Ratner Agrees to Hold Off Imminent Demolitions in "Atlantic Yards" Site
Court Will Decide on TRO by End of Week
Protest Against Demolitions Cancelled
NEW YORK, New York – Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and co-petitioners on the DDDB et. al. v. ESDC et. al lawsuit applied for a temporary restraining order (TRO) today in Manhattan State Supreme Court to put a stay on imminent demolitions by developer Forest City Ratner for its "Atlantic Yards" project. After a two hour hearing Forest City Ratner graciously agreed not to go forward with demolitions in the "Atlantic Yards" project site–which it had scheduled for commencement tomorrow, April 18th–so that Justice Joan Madden could take time to render her decision on the TRO. Justice Madden announced she would have a decision on the TRO by the end of this week.
Co-petitioners applied for the TRO after the court scheduled a hearing on the lawsuit (which was filed on April 5th) for May 3rd. On May 3rd the court will hear petitioners Article 78 and declaratory judgment case, as well as motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining all demolition until the case can be decided. Because the injunction would not be heard until May 3rd–while numerous demolitions have been scheduled prior to May 3rd–in order to prevent the injunction from becoming substantially moot, co-petitioners applied for the TRO today.
In light of the developer's agreement not to commence demolitions as planned tomorrow, the protest against those demolitions–called for 8am on April 18th–has been cancelled.
A protest against the developer's demolitions will be called pending the court's decision of the TRO.
Posted by lumi at April 17, 2007 11:14 PM