Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn has planned a demonstration to protest the demolition of four buildings on the Atlantic Yards footprint ffor Monday April 23, at 8 a.m. at 191 Flatbush Avenue (between Fifth Avenue and Dean).
The reason: A Temporary Restraining Order to block Forest City Ratner’s demolition of buildings within the Atlantic Yards footprint has been denied by Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden.
The court expressly stated that in making today’s TRO decision it was not pre-judging
the merits of petitioners
claims filed on April 5th.
Forest City Ratner plans to begin demolition on nine buildings during the
13 days between today and the Mary 3rd hearing.
Here’s what Develop Don’t Destroy had to say in a press release sent to OTBKB and others:
Major Legal Hurdles Still Face Developer
We are confident in the merits of our challenge to the state’s approval of the
project and that once our claims are heard we will prevail sending the project
back to the drawing board. It is also clear that as long as owners and
renters challenging the state’s right to seize private property by eminent domain
succeed in federal court,
the project cannot be built–not the arena or the skyscraper super-blocks.
Because of the irreparable harm these premature demolitions will bring, we call
on Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg and other elected officials to use the
ESDC’s funding leverage to halt the demolitions unless the project is proven
to be legal and finacially feasible.All legal papers, a summary of the lawsuit, and the list of co-plaintiffs can
be found here:
http://www.dddb.net/FEIS