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]

Did we miss an article or video?  Let us know in the comment section.

Coverage of July 18 Parkland Alienation Hearing

Padma Lakshmi Joins Villagers' Fight Against NYU Expansion [Gothamist]

‘Top Chef’ host Padma Lakshmi joins fight against NYU’s planned Village expansion [New York Post]

Padma Lakshmi Joins NYU Expansion Opponents in Court [DNAinfo]

Sexy vs. Sexton: Padma Shows Up to Support Lawsuit Against NYU 2031 [Bedford + Bowery]

Village residents face off against NYU to keep green space [The Real Deal]

Parkland Alienation Court Hearing: Thurs., July 18

 
WHO: YOU! PLEASE COME TO A HEARING ON THE NYU 2031 PLAN this Thursday at 10am — this may be our last opportunity to be heard!

WHAT: There are six causes of action filed against various City and State Agencies. Our attorneys will argue the merits of these claims, and the judge will decide whether to dismiss or uphold them.

WHERE: NY STATE SUPREME COURT–JUDGE DONNA MILLS–ROOM 574, 111 CENTRE STREET (between White & Leonard Streets), NYC

WHEN: THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013, 10:30 AM (BE THERE BY 10:00 IN ORDER TO CLEAR SECURITY–BRING PHOTO ID)

WHY: IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE JUDGE SEES THAT THE COMMUNITY IS OUTRAGED BY THE NYU 2031 PLAN. WE ARE, SO BE THERE!

Image and text from NYUFASP.

Alienation of Parkland Hearing on July 18, 10:30 a.m.

The Alienation of parkland hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 18, 10:30 a.m. in Judge Mills' chambers, Room 574, 111 Centre.

2 Acres of Parkland Sold for University Development in Phoenix

The City Parks blog reports that in May 2011, a Phoenix neighborhood lost 2.015 acres of municipal parkland when the city sold the land to the private, for-profit Grand Canyon University for its $200 million campus expansion plan.  Sound familiar?  In 2012, the university sought to purchase the remaining 13.8 acres but legal and electoral advocacy prevented the sale.

Read more at City Parks blog.

July 18: Parkland Alienation Court Hearing

Save the date of July 18 for a court hearing on the improper seizure of the four parks properties on LaGuardia Place and Mercer Streets. In New York, parkland cannot be alienated without a vote by the state legislature, which the City of New York never sought. Moreover, the replacement parkland proposed by NYU is inadequate, and the Sasaki Garden irreplaceable.

Stay tuned for more details.

TODAY: Selling and Giving Away NYC Parks on WNYC

Don't miss the "Selling and Giving Away NYC Parks" on today's Leonard Lopate Show.  Leonard's guest is Jim Walden, an attorney with Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.

The practice of selling, or even giving away, public parkland and historic sites to private developers has become a disturbing trend in recent years. Attorney Jim Walden has taken several of these cases to court, including one involving Brooklyn Bridge Park, as well as the current case of the New York University expansion taking over public open space. He'll look at what the law says, and what can be done to protect these public spaces.

If you can't listen live, catch it later as a podcast.  Here's the link: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/apr/23/selling-and-giving-away-nyc-parks/.

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.