New York — In a decision released on February 24, 2020 the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the community’s lawsuit to stop the planned development of four luxury towers in Two Bridges.
Judge Engoron ruled that the developments are in direct contradiction to the underlying zoning of the area, which is the Two Bridges Large Scale Residential Development. In order to go forward with construction, both the City Planning Commission and the developers would have to contradict previous claims that the towers would not directly impact the surrounding environment.
“This is an amazing victory and it comes on the tails of victories across the city. From the Harlem rezoning to the tower planned to shadow the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the people are taking the City to court, and we are winning. We did the work and did hundreds of hours of research, outreach, and just a month ago delivered 5,000 signatures to our elected officials to stop the towers and pass the full Chinatown Working Group Rezoning Plan. Today we will celebrate, and tomorrow we will get back to work,” said Tony Quey Lin, a plaintiff of the Lower East Side Organized Neighbors lawsuit.
“At the start of this fight, Council Member Chin and Mayor de Blasio told us it was a done deal. We could not be more excited to prove them wrong. We didn’t listen to the politicians whose pockets are lined with real estate money. We came together and demand no towers, no compromise. And through our work, our organizing, and our unity, we have stopped these towers and the massive displacement they would have brought to our community,” said Zishun Ning, a member of Lower East Side Organized Neighbors.
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