Coverage of Winning Lawsuit against Alienation of Parkland by NYU and NYC

Judge Blocks Part of N.Y.U.’s Plan for Four Towers in Greenwich Village [NY Times]

NYU’s expansion plan dealt blow as judge rules state legislature must sign off on deal to complete most of project [Daily News]

Judge Halts NYU Expansion, Says State Approval Is Needed [Curbed NY]

Judge says city broke the law by approving N.Y.U. superblocks plan [The Villager]

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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.

Open Space Oversight Organization

NYU has filed for 501c3 status for the organization that will direct the future of the open spaces in the two superblocks bounded by West Third, Mercer, Houston, and La Guardia Place: the Open Space Oversight Organization or OSOO. The nominating members of the OSOO have appointed the following representatives:

• Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has nominated Lin Zeng, Deputy Director of Land Use, Planning & Development, to serve as his office’s representative.
  
• Council Member Margaret Chin has nominated Matthew Viggiano, Director of Land Use & Planning, to serve as her office’s representative.
  
• Community Board 2 and Chair David Gruber have nominated Terri Cude, CB2 Arts & Institutions Committee Chair, to serve as the Board’s representative.
  
• New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation has nominated William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, to serve as the department’s representative.
  
• NYU has nominated Arthur Tannenbaum, faculty and senate member, to serve as the University’s representative. 

The official announcement can be read at http://caan2031.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OSOOappointments.pdf or at http://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/govCommunAffairs/documents/superblocks/2013-01-10-OSOO-Appointments-Memo-Web.pdf.

(HT: CAAN 2031)