My recent research into various news articles on this subject has let me to discover someone who I consider to be a well informed, educated, and authoritative, voice on this particular zoning controversy.
This person (Robert) posted the following comment in a community newspaper; his comments as a “supreme court judge” has great significance to me - compared to most of the other random comments I have read on the subject.
This was posted by in the comment section of the West Side Rag -
ROBERT says:
Ok I will keep it as simple as I can
This was and still is an as of right building. It was approved that way by the DOB and several court challenges to that lost or where dismissed for things like lack of sufficiency I.E there is no case based on actual law. It is part of the US Constitution that laws can not be retroactive, they can only apply to action. The Judge in this case comes to the end of his ten year term and several pols and members of CB10, where he was chair are pushing him to run for office in 2021. The UWS has a highly one sided political community in giving money. This ruling was a sop to that. Don’t you recall all the celebration and claims of success by local elcteds and candidates saying “they had stopped it forever” only to be reversed?
This is expected to be reversed on appeal as soon as early June perhaps earlier as the courts are now starting up expatiated actions via video.
I laugh when I hear our elected and self appointed community leaders, must of which fled the city to their other homes, talking about being for the little guy.
They are always shocked when the developers don’t talk to them about putting in “community spaces” they want or respond to their demands. They seem shocked that when a new building is even rumored and they send official looking letters saying they demand this or that, threaten to start petitions/protest etc. doesn’t get a favorable response. Devoplers have long added extra $$ into the costs the figure on when doing UWS projects for baseless lawsuits.
God, I cannot believe there are like 500 posts trying to rationalize this manufactured “controversy”.
This isn’t a complex matter. It’s an as-of-right building that’s getting delayed due to stringent, powerful West Side NIMBYism. It isn’t the first building, and won’t be the last. But endless, expensive litigation by white shoe law firms, in the end, isn’t gonna stop this project, though it will succeed in driving up costs and harming all involved parties (which is really the implicit intent).
Infoshare: I don’t want to post another very long note. Suffice it to say this in response to your judge: First, retroactivity is sometimes, though not typically, allowed. Second, if this case is about the propriety of issuing the building permit, it is not a retroactivity issue to decide it. If so, then all appellate decisions would be deemed retroactive. The case would be barred only if the same problem had been previously litigated between the same parties. Has that happened? Third, if the zoning lot was improper, then it is not an as of right building. Just because some folks have said it’s as of right does not make it so unless the courts agree. That hasn’t happened yet. And as for me, I have been a law teacher for 52 years. Property law and civil procedure have been part of my teaching load for decades. So please, no comments about me being some off the wall crazy UWS basket case. Finally, the plaintiffs may lose this case. So be it. But diatribes about the bona fides of ALL those who have doubts about this building are really not appropriate. As I have posted previously, there are a variety of reasons why folks may not favor this building–some ok and some not. Broad brush strokes don’t help a lot here. A little tolerance does. I counsel patience. Let’s just see how this plays out.
Y’all, can we hold this argument until something happens with the courts? Everyone here on YIMBY knows abundantly how each one of us feels about this issue, but nothing is changing. Kinda feels like a dead horse. It is a nuanced issue and we won’t ever see perfectly eye to eye.
I am glad to see I am getting the results I seek on this matter: which is to simply to ‘crowed-source’ any and ALL information available on this subject. Your ‘input’ is helpful, as is every other comment above: what I ‘can not believe’ are the legal disagreements, ambiguities, controversy.
I do not oppose this project; so perhaps I am biased in what information I choose to post. I find what was said by the Robert in the comments to be quite valid; but most importantly it is simply additional ‘DATA’ on the subject. There are some people on this thread who seem to need to ‘win’ some sort of argument, or debate; on the other hand I do not - I seek only to post any relevant fact/data/information on the subject.
Yes, time now to wait till some new legal decisions are made on the matter - all else said at this point if futile. However, that ‘supreme court judge’ comment was NEW to me - and powerful commentary - so I needed to post those opinions/observations.
Here is an excerpt from the Judge (Robert) in the comment section of the West Side Rag; this part of his comment I found to be both NEW and is also a statement that has much ‘explanatory power’ as to why the original ruling is being challenged. The claims he makes may not be true, but that’s not the point: full disclosure, transparency and Free Speech is the only ‘point’ I am trying to put forth in these discussions.
Excerpt from comment section -
…“The Judge in this case comes to the end of his ten year term and several pols and members of CB10, where he was chair are pushing him to run for office in 2021. The UWS has a highly one sided political community in giving money. This ruling was a sop to that. Don’t you recall all the celebration and claims of success by local elcteds and candidates saying “they had stopped it forever” only to be reversed?”…
Good article: but still nothing materially new from what has been written to date.
The crux of the matter as best I understand is the claim that the building permits were “inappropriately approved” by the DOB; and therefore a stop work, and possible removal of the upper floors hang in the balance.
The damages to the developer as a result of this “inappropriate approval” must be astronomical, even if they are permitted to build to full height: so the settlement terms, and damages paid - if any - will be the final details to watch out for as this boondoggle inches to its final conclusion.
I will also post any news as I find it; this Archinect Article escaped my notice. Nice find Waymond_ Womano. Way_to_go_bro.
