BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Call it double jeopar-tree!
A group of Fort Greene residents
is suing the city for a
second time over its plans to
redevelop the entrance to the
neighborhood’s eponymous
park at the corner of Myrtle Avenue
and St. Edwards Street.
Friends of the Fort Greene
Park teamed up with the national
environmental advocacy
group the Sierra Club to sue the
Parks Department this month
for allegedly avoiding the State
Environmental Quality Review
Act, which would have spotlighted
the green space’s importance
to the community, according
to a high-profi le lawyer
COURIER L 16 IFE, APRIL 19–25, 2019 PS
ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK: Friends of Fort Greene Park has again sued the Parks Department for its plan to
chop 58 mature trees to make way for a new paved plaza at the entrance to the neighborhood’s eponymous
park. Photo by Kevin Duggan
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for their case.
“We believe the Parks Department
tried to avoid doing
an environmental impact
statement that would shine a
light on the history, tradition,
and enjoyment of the park and
the surrounding community
that would be lost,” said Sierra
Club’s attorney Richard Lippes,
who has fought for decades
against improper developments
upstate and across the country.
Lippes argues that
the Parks Department
misclassified the project to
reconstruct the park’s entrance
as not having significant
environmental impacts
and thus exempting the
scheme from the environmental
review, according to
court documents.
But the plaintiffs — which
also include the preservationist
group The City Club of New
York and eight residents — argue
that the $10.5 million project
would have environmental
consequences, due to the department’s
plans to chop down
58 mature trees to make way for
a revamped grand corner entrance
with a plaza and paved
walkway to the park’s Prison
Ship Martyrs Monument.
The recent lawsuit marks
the second time the Fort Greene
group has taken legal action
against the agency, previously
suing the Parks Department
after the release of a heavily
redacted report detailing the
project under freedom of information
legislation.
About a quarter of the 150-
page report was censored, with
entire pages blacked out, according
to the Fort Greene group’s
attorney Michael Gruen.
A court ruled that the
agency had to release the full
report, but department offi -
cials appealed the decision at
an April 4 hearing before the
state’s Court of Appeals, arguing
that because they hired an
outside consultant, Manhattan
based Nancy Owens, it allowed
them to withhold certain
information from the public.
The agency’s decision to
classify the project as not needing
a review relied solely on the
consultation by Nancy Owens,
Gruen found in the heavilycensored
report, which he said
makes it even more urgent to
release those details.
“They’re making a very important
decision with an environmental
impact and that’s
the one that they won’t allow
us to see,” said Gruen, who
also heads up the City Club of
New York.
A spokeswoman for the
Parks Department told this paper
that the agency does not
agree with the court’s ruling
to release the uncensored fi les
and that it will continue to defend
the city’s approval of the
project in court.
Bark wars
Residents sue city again for
Fort Greene Park revamp
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