BY BEN VERDE
Anti-gentrifi cation activists
are demanding criminal
charges against the developers
behind a slew of projects
in Crown Heights, claiming
that the builders are violating
a court-ordered restraining
order to prevent building on
the sites.
“The city and the developers
are not above the law,”
said Alicia Boyd, who is representing
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herself pro se in a
lawsuit challenging the rezoning.
“Criminal charges of
contempt of court should be issued
against both the city and
the developers.”
In April, Brooklyn Judge
Reginald Boddie put a temporary
restraining order on the
property as the court case plays
out — but developers are violating
that order by excavating
soil on the property at 931 Carroll
St., according to the activists.
Last week, Boyd and four
others were arrested while trying
to block dump trucks from
operating at the site, according
to Gothamist. Protestors presented
police with the court order
halting construction within
the Crown Heights rezoning
area, but offi cers still did not
shut down the construction.
The Police Department did
not immediately respond to request
for comment. The city’s
Law Department said that the
court order should be adhered
to, but declined to comment further.
Representatives for the
builders — Carroll Plaza Development
— could not be reached
for comment.
At the most recent court
hearing in December, Judge
Boddie blocked the developer’s
request to move forward with
soil excavation — a move activists
say would have effectively
ended their case.
“If the cement is poured, we
will have lost the case,” Boyd
said in December.
The lawsuit is challenging
the rezoning of Franklin Avenue,
which was approved by the
City Council in 2018 — before
being stymied by legal action
anti-gentrifi cation activists,
who claim that the city failed
to conduct a thorough environmental
impact review before
approving the zoning change.
At the heart of the controversy
is the massive 1,578-unit
tower planned for 960 Franklin,
which activists say would
cast harmful shadows on the
nearby Brooklyn Botanical
Garden. The developers have
claimed those fears are overblown,
but garden honchos
maintain that the tower would
devastate much of its plant life.
City offi cials have touted the
planned high-rises as a solution
to the city’s housing woes, with
hundreds of so-called affordable
units slated for the developments.
Housing advocates have
blasted the units as affordable
in name only, with rental prices
still out of reach for the average
Crown Heights resident.
The proposed Crown Heights rezoning developments are currently
stalled due to a lawsuit. Department of City Planning
Alicia Boyd (pictured here in September) claims developers are violating
a restraining order by excavating soil. Photo by Aidan Graham
Building a case
Activists call for criminal charges against developers
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