Green Amendment Can't Be Used by Residents to Re-Challenge Environmental Rights

June 27, 2023

LVT Number: #32610

Neighborhood residents sued the city, and asked the court to compel the city to take various actions in connection with a housing development project. They claimed that they lived in the neighborhood and insisted that the development, which encompasses three different sites, impinges on their constitutional and environmental rights, and pointed to the portion of the NY State Constitution's newly enacted Green Amendment. The residents argued that the project will negatively affect air quality, amount of open space, and result in the loss of light.

Neighborhood residents sued the city, and asked the court to compel the city to take various actions in connection with a housing development project. They claimed that they lived in the neighborhood and insisted that the development, which encompasses three different sites, impinges on their constitutional and environmental rights, and pointed to the portion of the NY State Constitution's newly enacted Green Amendment. The residents argued that the project will negatively affect air quality, amount of open space, and result in the loss of light. They questioned the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) produced for the project, including that it was completed too long ago -- in November 2018 -- to account for the effects of COVID.

The court ruled against residents, finding that the Green Amendment couldn't be used to augment a limitations period for the project, where multiple previous efforts to challenge the project exploring the exact same issues already had failed. While the practical application of the Green Amendment remains to be seen, the court stated that the purpose of its new rights wasn't to change the environmental review process for development projects.

Marte v. City of New York: Index No. 159068/2022, 2023 NY Slip Op 31198(U)(Sup. Ct. NY; 4/17/23; Bluth, J)

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