…Paula Segal, an attorney who represents five community groups on one of the three Two Bridges lawsuits, said the judge’s decision in that case had “disrupted an expectation” among developers who believed they could circumvent regulations.
“The message is that the rule of law applies to people who want to spend a lot of money building big buildings in New York,” she said. “In 2019, that is a change.”
Not surprisingly, developers saw the Two Bridges ruling differently.
“You’ve seen a couple of really high profile instances where the fundamental rules of the land use process are being challenged and changed at whimsy,” Jordan Barowitz, vice president of public affairs at the Durst Organization, recently told Politico.
The city’s Law Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The developers of Two Bridges—JDS Development Group, CIM Group and L&M Development Partners, and Starrett Development—have said they would appeal the decision.
Because the courts have historically deferred to the city in land use matters, even incremental victories can make headlines…
