A judge Thursday blocked controversial city plans to add luxury high-rise apartment buildings to the Two Bridges housing development downtown.
The City Council, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and local residents filed a series of lawsuits to stop three 60-story plus buildings from going up in the Lower East Side neighborhood.
The city Planning Commission approved the project — that would add nearly 3,000 units, 25 percent of which would be affordable housing apartments — last December without going through a public review process that requires the City Council and Brewer’s involvement.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron sided with the plaintiffs in an order Thursday vacating the Planning Commission’s approval of the project.
His decision requires that the plans first go through the public review forum called the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) without which there would be “irreparable harm,” the judge said.
“First, a community will be drastically altered without having had its proper say. Second, and arguably more important, allowing this project to proceed without the City Council’s imprimatur would distort the City’s carefully crafted system of checks and balances,” Engoron said.
“Under ULURP, the City Council’s mandatory role is not merely to advise, but to grant or deny final approval (with the Mayor). Without ULURP, the City’s legislature is cut out of the picture entirely,” Engoron continued.
The developers will appeal the ruling, spokesman James Yolles said in a press statement.
“Needless to say, we disagree with the court’s ruling, as these projects were lawfully approved and met all legal requirements,” he said.
“They were proposed after years of community consultation, public review and environmental analysis, and in compliance with zoning that’s been in place for more than 30 years.
“We will appeal this decision in the near future and look forward to delivering nearly 700 units of permanently affordable housing, $40 million in upgrades to the East Broadway subway station that will make it ADA-accessible for the first time, $12.5 million in essential repairs to the local NYCHA complex and $15 million in upgrades to three public parks in the neighborhood.”
At a June hearing, city lawyers had argued that the city charter didn’t require the project to go through ULURP and developers added that the project fit within zoning rules.
“We are disappointed by the court’s ruling impacting a project expected to add hundreds of affordable housing units and improve transit infrastructure for the community,” said Law Department spokesman, Nick Paolucci. “We are considering the city’s legal options.”
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said, “We’re very grateful that the State Supreme Court agreed and that the community, the Borough President, and the City Council will have an opportunity to provide real input and help shape the future of this neighborhood.”
Brewer said, “I’m just delighted that Judge Engoron has ruled in our favor.”