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Old Posted Jul 2, 2016, 12:53 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2013
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Panel of judges bar further work on the 2.7-acre park Pier55 until an appeal is heard this fall

Quote:
An appellate court on Thursday halted construction on Pier55, a proposed 2.7-acre park that will stand on piles in the Hudson River. Crews had just begun work on the $130 million green space, which is largely funded by media mogul Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

The opponents, led by the City Club of New York, filed suit in state Supreme Court in June 2015, arguing that the Hudson River Park Trust, the entity that manages and operates the park, did not go through the proper channels to launch the project and didn't adequately study the potential environmental impacts of Pier55. While a Manhattan judge tossed out that suit in April, the club appealed. A state appellate court issued a preliminary injunction and ordered work to stop until the case is heard in September and a ruling is handed down.

"The project is significantly imperiled at this point, and we are very happy about that," said Richard Emery, an attorney at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, who represents the plaintiffs. "We think this is a project borne of secrecy and deception, and should not be part of the city landscape without a very different approach to getting public and government approvals."

In April, the trust announced that it had reached its final milestone when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the project.On Thursday, the trust reacted to the court's ruling.

"This time-wasting and out-of-touch lawsuit is an insult not just to the local community board, which overwhelmingly supports this project, but to the New Yorkers from across the city who will enjoy this park for years to come,” a spokesman for the Trust said in a statement, later adding, "It has become dishearteningly clear that this case has nothing to do with environmental impacts, and not once have the plaintiffs produced an expert who can say the project will cause environmental harm."

The City Club has two other pending lawsuits against the project in state and federal court.

“By continuing its misguided crusade, the City Club is obstructing the will of the local community and undermining a much-needed effort to create new public parks in New York City," said a spokesman for Pier55 Inc., a nonprofit that will help operate the park.
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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...unded-by-barry