The community groups have since then filed a zoning challenge through their counsel, Paula Segal, senior staff attorney with TakeRoot Justice, of D.O.B.’s acceptance for consideration of additional building permits.
We have been back in court twice; each time, the judge has urged NYCHA to make and show progress. But conditions continue to deteriorate, even amidst increasingly urgent concerns over COVID-19.
TakeRoot Justice has sued the authority, alleging the elevators and other persistent problems violate residents’ rights to live in safe, healthy conditions. A judge has ordered NYCHA to improve conditions, but the coronavirus has given renewed urgency to making fixes.
Our connections are essential for our resilience. Even as we continue this work from home, our networks have never been more important than they are today.
Tenants who helped derail development at two aging Yorkville public housing complexes are suing to demand decent living conditions.
Daniel Carpenter-Gold, of TakeRoot Justice, which represents the tenants association, said the proposed commercial upzoning is tailored more for big box stores ... “Why would they need this [commercial] rezoning?” he said. “Their renderings showed a coffee shop.”
"You don't see places like Target in the pretty renderings that the developer gave the City," Daniel Carpenter-Gold, a staff attorney at TakeRoot Justice, said in a statement. "But make no mistake, that's what they're going for here."
“It’s great to know that the court takes its oversight authority seriously,” said Paula Segal, an attorney who argued one of the lawsuits for community groups. “Usually there’s so much deference to the city.”
“The decision is very clear that none of the agencies can take any action. They cannot send confronting letters, they cannot accept applications, nothing can happen towards the development of the towers until they are properly approved.”
A lawyer for the groups, Paula Segal of TakeRoot Justice, said the goal is to rezone the neighborhood before developers re-apply to build the towers — forcing them to follow the community rezoning plans.
