[Photo yesterday by Kate Horsfield via Instagram]
Opponents of the city's plan to demolish East River Park announced details of a lawsuit yesterday in hopes of stopping the project set to commence this year.
The Alienation of Parkland lawsuit was filed by Arthur Z. Schwartz of Advocates for Justice on behalf of East River Park Action, a grassroots neighborhood group, and 90 other plaintiffs.
Here's part of their statement via the EVG inbox:
The $1.45 billion flood control project will destroy the largest park south of Central Park starting in fall 2020. It will take at least three years (but likely much longer considering city’s history with park construction) to secure the neighborhood from storm surges.
Thousands of park users have demanded immediate interim flood protection and a revision of the plan to cause minimal destruction of the park.
The mayor and the New York City Council support the current East Side Coastal Resiliency Project despite vast neighborhood opposition.
“We have to sue to stop this plan. It’s clearly a violation of state law to destroy the park,” says Charles Krezell, who organized the legal efforts with East River Park Action.
Schwartz, a West 12th Street resident, previously filed lawsuits against the city's 14th Street Busway.
You can read more about Alienation of Parkland, the basis of the lawsuit, at this link.
This past Nov. 14, City Council signed off on the hotly contested flood-protection plan that will bury/elevate East River Park by eight feet as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. The Department of Design and Construction has said that it plans to break ground on the Project later this spring.
Previously on EV Grieve:
• More details on the city's new plan to keep East River Park partially open during flood protection construction (Oct. 3)
• At the march and rally to save East River Park (Sept. 21)
• An annual reunion in East River Park (Aug. 4)
• A visit to East River Park (July 10)