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For
Immediate Release: February 7, 2006
South
South Brooklyn Legal Services Joins Lawsuit Against
Empire State Development Corporation and Forest City Ratner
Low-income Advocates Seek Injunction on Rubber-stamped
Demolition Approval and Disqualification of Conflicted Attorney
MANHATTAN,NY
- South Brooklyn Legal Services (SBLS),
a non-profit law firm serving low-income clients, has joined
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) and over a dozen co-plaintiff
community organizations in a lawsuit
challenging ESDC's declaration of emergency that would allow
Forest City Ratner to demolish six buildings in the proposed
"Atlantic Yards" footprint. The lawsuit also calls for the
disqualification of the Empire State Development Corporation's
(ESDC) outside attorney on "Atlantic Yards" who appears to have
a conflict of interest. The attorney, David Paget (Sive, Paget
& Riesel), has represented Forest City Ratner (FCR) on the
same development proposal the state corporation is charged with
reviewing objectively. Mr. Paget approved FCR's proposed demolition.
SBLS is seeking to intervene on behalf of a building of low-income,
rent-stabilized, long-term tenants in Prospect Heights who would
be displaced by eminent domain, and whose homes, situated where
Ratner's arena is proposed, would be demolished if the project
is approved.
Jennifer Levy, Co-Director of SBLS's Housing Law Unit is the
attorney on the case. "Our plaintiffs challenge the demolition
on the grounds that ESDC failed to seek any independent evidence
that the buildings slotted for demolition are unsafe," Ms. Levy
said. "In addition, ESDC's special counsel appears to have a
serious conflict of interest and should be disqualified."
In order to obtain an emergency declaration, the developer had
to show that the emergency measures to be employed were limited
and temporary, and designed to cause the least possible environmental
damage under the rules of the State Environmental Quality Review
Act (SEQRA), which currently governs the Ratner proposal. Demolition
is not limited and temporary, and the ESDC has failed to even
consider whether there might be a less drastic remedy than demolition
until the environmental review process can be completed.
Develop Don't Destroy spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "These
demolitions would serve to subvert the environmental review
process and sully the integrity of that process. We and our
co-plaintiffs are proud to be allied with such a well-respected
organization as South Brooklyn Legal Services. We are pleased
that they concur with the merits of the lawsuit we have brought
and have joined us in representing the interest of the public,
especially some of our most vulnerable neighbors."
The court date for the hearing on the preliminary injunction
is set for:
Tuesday, February 14th
9:30 AM
Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County
60 Centre Street
Honorable Justice Carol Edmead presiding
All lawsuit related documents and information can be found
at: http://www.dddb.net/litigation
South
Brooklyn Legal Services: Intervention
Motion and Intervention
Memo (pdfs)
South Brooklyn Legal Services
is a not-for-profit organization
that has been providing free civil legal services to low-income
people in Brooklyn for over 30 years.
DEVELOP DON’T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads
a broad-based community coalition
fighting for development that will unite our communities instead
of dividing and destroying them.
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