Media Coverage of Feb. 26th Hearing of Article 78 Case

Mercer Playground, land formally transferred to NYC Parks in 1997, photo courtesy of localecology.org

Mar. 7, 2013:

Can a Community Garden Stop the NYU Expansion? [NY Press]

Feb. 28, 2013:

N.Y.U. project foes hail judge’s ruling about strips [The Villager]

http://www.thevillager.com/2013/02/28/not-strips-but-parks/ [The Villager]


Feb. 27, 2013:

Judge Allows New Documentation In NYU Expansion Hearing [City & State]

NYU gotta be kidding! Matthew Broderick rips $6B expansion [NY Post]


Feb. 26, 2013:

NYU Expansion Opponents Victorious in Initial Legal Skirmish [Curbed]

Matthew Broderick Joins NYU Expansion Opponents in Court [DNAinfo]

Not in my backyard: Matthew Broderick slams NYU expansion [NY Post]

NYU's Expansion Plan Challenged in Court Today [The Village Voice]

Professors And Villagers Take NYU To Court, Matthew Broderick Shows Up To Watch [NYU Local]


(Hat tip: WSV Tenants Association)

Results of Feb. 26th Hearing of Article 78 Case

For Immediate Release: February 26, 2013

Contact: Linda Cronin-Gross, LCG Communications: 718.853.5568; 917.767.1141; linda@lcgcommunications.com

NYU Expansion Plan Case:

Victory for Petitioners: Court Orders City, NYU to Respond to Petitioners’ Request for Discovery and Hearing on Issue of Parkland Giveaway in NYU Sexton Plan; Actor Matthew Broderick, Playwright Kenneth Lonergan Join Sexton Plan Opponents in Open Court

Petitioners in the NYU Sexton Expansion Plan case walked away with their first legal victory today, as State Supreme Court Justice Donna Mills sided with them and ordered the City and NYU to “show cause” why petitioners’ request for a hearing and expedited discovery on their “parkland alienation” claim should be dismissed. Petitioners argued that the City’s approval of the NYU expansion plan was illegal because, among other things, it gave NYU rights over four public parks, in violation of state law, which requires, under the Public Trust Doctrine, that parkland can’t be given away without state approval.

NYS Supreme Court Hearing on Parkland Alienation by City and NYU

NYS Supreme Court Justice Donna Mills will hear testimony on parkland alienation by the City and NYU. The four parks in question are the Mercer Playground, LaGuardia Corner Gardens, LaGuardia Park, and the Mercer-Houston Dog Run

Tuesday, February 26th
11:30 AM
COURTROOM OF JUSTICE DONNA MILLS
New York State Supreme Court, Civil Branch
111 Centre Street, Room 574

A message from Bo Riccobono of NYUFASP:

Media Coverage of Former NYC Parks Commissioner Stern's Affidavit

Former Chief of Parks Backs NYU Plan Foes* [Wall Street Journal]

Former City Parks Commissioner Signs On To Lawsuit Opposing NYU Expansion [NY1]

Former NYC Parks Commissioner Says City Illegally Gave Parkland To NYU [NYU Local]

NYU & Bloomberg in Cahoots [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

* The entire WSJ article is included below.

Former NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern Contests City's Giveaway of Parkland to NYU

From the CAAN 2031 website:

Mr. Stern’s affidavit refutes these absurd contentions made by NYU and the City, confirming that four separate properties were, in fact, dedicated parkland. In blunt terms, former Commissioner Stern said, “In my opinion, all four of these sites have been dedicated as public parks, either expressly or impliedly, and therefore cannot be alienated by the City without the State Legislature’s prior approval under the Public Trust Doctrine. It was always the City’s intent in continuously making these sites available to the public for recreational use over many years to treat them as dedicated parkland.”

The NYUFASP press release is available here.