A lawsuit challenging a large development planned at Willets Point in Queens has been dismissed by a state judge, handing the Bloomberg administration a key victory in its attempts to transform the industrial area by Citi Field into a housing and retail center, according to an article today by Eliot Brown at observer.com.
The lawsuit, brought by a set of business and land owners in the project's footprint, challenged the environmental review, a common tactic by opponents of large development projects. While the lawsuits typically are dismissed for such projects, the Willets Point development is far more complex than most, and the landowners were well armed with consultants and a veteran environmental attorney, Michael Gerrard of Arnold and Porter.
The court rejected the contentions of a group of business and land owners in the project's footprint that "the environmental review failed to properly account for various required items (emergency responder time; highway impact; drinking water impact, etc.)," the article said.
In reaction to the news, Seth Pinsky, president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, released a statement celebrating the win:
"Today's judgment on an Article 78 petition filed last year moves Willets Point one step closer to becoming New York's next great neighborhood, a center of opportunity and a driver of growth for the City's economy. It's good news for Queens residents and the local economy, and it's another affirmation for a project that has the overwhelming support of the City Council, local elected officials and the Community Board."
The article maintained that "there's no reason to think" the landowners and business owners "will surrender at this point, given that many have insisted they will not leave until the city forces them out with eminent domain."
"Recently," the article continued, "they have been focusing intently on the federal approval of the off-ramps to the Van Wyck Expressway, saying the traffic numbers and the city's application are deeply flawed. As the judge who wrote the decision, Joan Madden, noted in her ruling, the city has said it cannot proceed with the project (as currently envisioned) if it does not get federal approval for the ramps."
The lawsuit, brought by a set of business and land owners in the project's footprint, challenged the environmental review, a common tactic by opponents of large development projects. While the lawsuits typically are dismissed for such projects, the Willets Point development is far more complex than most, and the landowners were well armed with consultants and a veteran environmental attorney, Michael Gerrard of Arnold and Porter.
The court rejected the contentions of a group of business and land owners in the project's footprint that "the environmental review failed to properly account for various required items (emergency responder time; highway impact; drinking water impact, etc.)," the article said.
In reaction to the news, Seth Pinsky, president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, released a statement celebrating the win:
"Today's judgment on an Article 78 petition filed last year moves Willets Point one step closer to becoming New York's next great neighborhood, a center of opportunity and a driver of growth for the City's economy. It's good news for Queens residents and the local economy, and it's another affirmation for a project that has the overwhelming support of the City Council, local elected officials and the Community Board."
The article maintained that "there's no reason to think" the landowners and business owners "will surrender at this point, given that many have insisted they will not leave until the city forces them out with eminent domain."
"Recently," the article continued, "they have been focusing intently on the federal approval of the off-ramps to the Van Wyck Expressway, saying the traffic numbers and the city's application are deeply flawed. As the judge who wrote the decision, Joan Madden, noted in her ruling, the city has said it cannot proceed with the project (as currently envisioned) if it does not get federal approval for the ramps."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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