Neighborhood groups opposed to the city Department of Sanitation’s proposed three-district garage on Spring St. filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the $500 million project proposed for the UPS property between Washington and West Sts.
In addition to the Sanitation Department and the City Planning Commission, the lawsuit also names as a defendant the Hudson River Park Trust, the state and city agency scheduled to take jurisdiction of the Gansevoort Peninsula where D.S.N.Y. facilities are currently located.
The suit seeks to set aside a 2005 settlement agreement that requires the city to relocate all of its sanitation facilities and salt shed from the Peninsula to Spring St. by 2013, claiming that alternative sites for the new garage have not been adequately considered.
The suit filed in State Supreme Court also seeks to set aside the 2008 City Council and City Planning Commission approval of the D.S.N.Y move to Spring St. on the grounds that the move is a violation of the City Charter’s Fair Share Criteria.
The lawsuit also seeks to block transfer of the title of the property from UPS to the city, “until such time as [city and its agencies] comply with the Hudson River Park Act including considerations of alternate sites in coordination and consultation with relevant community boards and interested parties.
Kenneth McCallion, an environmental lawyer, brought the suit on behalf of Tribeca and Hudson Sq. groups including the Tribeca Community Association, Canal West Coalition and the Canal Park Conservancy in addition to private property owners including 304 Spring St. Condominium, 530 Canal St. Realty Corp., The James Brown House, P.J. Charlton, Elba Parking and the Urban Glass House Condominium.
The 66-page petition was accompanied by 34 documents and affidavits that follow the course of the controversy over the proposed facility. The suit seeks a Feb. 25 hearing on the various injunctions.
A city spokesperson said the Law Dept. had not yet received the suit. A Trust spokesperson did not comment.
— Albert Amateau
