TakeRoot’s Equitable Neighborhoods team represents Chhaya CDC, Minkwon Center for Community Action and the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce in litigation against the City for its unlawful curtailment of environmental review of the proposed Flushing Waterfront Rezoning and Special District. We are asking the court to nullify the rezoning approved by City Council in December 2020.
Selected Press
Patch: Community Sues New York City Council Over Flushing Rezoning | Feb. 19, 2021
New York Daily News: Developers have big plans for Flushing, Queens waterfront; working-class community not convinced | Oct. 17, 2020
Queens Daily Eagle: Opinion: Special Flushing Waterfront District rezoning appeal is grounded in misinformation | Sept. 15, 2020
QNS: Public review of major Flushing Waterfront Development set to resume next week | Sept. 8, 2020
The City: Locals’ Lawsuit Slams Flushing Waterfront Development Project | June 8, 2020
Court Documents
Affidavits in Support of Annulling Negative Declaration, submitted prior to approval of rezoning by City Council in December 2020
Chris Walters, planner, Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
Annetta Seecharran, Executive Director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation
John Park, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action
John Choe, Executive Director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
Robert LoScalzo, resident
Affidavits in Support of Annulling Rezoning, submitted February 2021
Annetta Seecharran, Executive Director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation
John Park, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action
Administrative Advocacy
Comments to the City Planning Commission, Sept. 16, 2020 – “TakeRoot Justice, which represents members of the Flushing for Equitable Development & Urban Planning (FED UP), urges the City Planning Commission to reject the proposed Special Flushing Waterfront District proposed by FWRA LLC. FED UP member organizations and the members of the Flushing community will offer their comments on the proposed District separately to explain the havoc that the proposal would wreak on the neighborhood through gentrification, density, and the uprooting of small businesses. TakeRoot provides these comments separately to explain that the Commission cannot lawfully approve the application because of irreparable flaws in the State-law mandated environmental review.”