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https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/8/27/21...-court-battles

Embattled Two Bridges Towers Gets Appeals Court OK — But Two More Cases Await






BY RACHEL HOLLIDAY SMITH
AUG 27, 2020

A unanimous decision from the Appellate Division reversed a particularly ardent ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron last summer that had said pre-existing development rules for the site did not permit three planned 70- to 100-story buildings on the waterfront.

The higher court ruled that the City Planning Commission had made the right call when it approved tweaks to the development rules the developers requested, and found “no error” with the decision to not put the project through the public review process known as ULURP.

The appellate decision, however, only applies to a lawsuit brought in late 2018 by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council members against the city and the City Planning Commission.

A pair of separate legal actions brought by two coalitions of local residents and activists are still pending and have not yet been resolved, noted Paula Segal, an attorney with TakeRoot Justice who represents clients in one of the remaining cases.

“This is definitely not a greenlight for the megatowers to go forward,” she said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a wholly separate legal battle over development rights at one of the three would-be buildings — set to rise atop an existing residence for seniors — is ongoing.

And locals have said they hope that case drags on long enough for a grassroots neighborhood rezoning proposal to move forward, which would cap all buildings at about 35 stories in an area from Catherine Street to Montgomery Street between South and Cherry streets.