6
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
Botanic battle is a go!
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
A judge quashed an effort
by real estate bigwigs
to dismiss a lawsuit that
would block two controversial
Crown Heights developments
from rising up
near the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden on Sept. 9 — setting
the stage for a prolonged
courtroom showdown that
could determine the fate of
the borough’s world-class
horticultural museum, according
to local activists.
“Justice was done today,”
said Alicia Boyd, the lead activist
behind anti-gentrifi cation
group Movement to Protect
the People. “It was done
because we, the people, will
no longer allow the destruction
of our community, or
the destruction of our green
spaces for the greed of developers.”
Boyd and her fellow activists
— who are acting as
their own lawyers — sued
developer Cornell Realty
Management and the city
in April for allegedly failing
to conduct a proper environmental
review ahead of
a Council vote that gave developers
the right to exceed
zoning height regulations in
building two 16-story towers
at 931 Carroll St. and 40
Crown St., both of which are
located a block away from
the botanical garden.
Attorneys for the developer
asked Brooklyn Supreme
Court Justice Reginald
Boddie to toss Boyd’s
lawsuit on a technicality
in August, claiming that
Boyd and her fellow plaintiffs
failed to properly serve
them with papers in delivering
them to a Cornell lawyer
who did not have permission
to receive them.
But Boddie wasn’t buying
it and the Supreme
Court justice rebuffed
their request for dismissal,
thereby preserving a temporary
restraining order that
bars construction while the
court case plays out.
The Adams Street courtroom
was particularly
colorful during Monday’s
proceedings, and Crown
Heights community members
packed the gallery
wearing “fl ower power”
T-shirts while waiting for
Boddie’s decision.
“This judge does not
believe how good we are.
He doesn’t believe it,” said
Crown Heights resident Julia
Bryant. “We are stunning
him. We are stunning
this courthouse. And we
won’t stop until they stop
the work.”
When news of the proposed
towers broke in 2017,
it helped prove the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden’s international
appeal, as fl ower
fans living as far away as the
United Kingdoms fl ocked to
sign a petition condemning
the development, which
they feared would bathe the
horticultural preserve in
shadow and damage its leafy
occupants.
Executives at Brooklyn
Botanic Garden would later
take a notoriously neutral
stance towards the Cornell
development, claiming fears
over the project’s shadow
impact were overblown.
However, garden
honchos have come out
strongly against a much
larger development proposed
by Continuum Company
at nearby 960 Franklin
Ave., which one garden
green thumb famously
claimed would block so
much sunlight, half of the
garden’s collection of rare
and exotic plants could die
Crown Heights community members gathered at the courthouse on Sept. 9 to show their support for the anti-development lawsuit.
Photo by Aidan Graham
as a result.
Activists have long argued
that the smaller development
is inexorably linked
to the larger one, saying that
if Cornell’s rezoning effort
is allowed to succeed, it will
pave the way for Continuum
to net the buildings rights
it needs to construct its two
planned 39-story towers.
“This fi rst development
cannot go through, because
the big one is behind it. The
monster is behind it,” said
Boyd. “And that monster
will devastate us.”
The next court date is
scheduled for Oct. 7 at 10 a.m.
in room 456 of the Brooklyn
Supreme Court building at
360 Adams St.
Attorneys for Cornell did
not respond to a request for
comment.
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 by Brooklyn Courier
Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in
whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address
changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
The proposed Crown Heights developments are currently under a restraining order as the court case
proceeds. Department of City Planning