Judge Rules Against Developers Of Two Bridges Project In Latest Judiciary Blow To NYC CRE

A state judge has rolled back the approval New York City gave to developers planning thousands of rental units in four new towers in Lower Manhattan's Two Bridges neighborhood.

Local residents and four community groups sued the developers and several city agencies in Manhattan Supreme Court to stop the developers from moving forward. They brought the matter to court last year, arguing that the city should not have given them approval to build, The Real Deal reports.

The city had said the developers — JDS Development, L+M Development, CIM Group and Starrett Corp. — could start construction without a special permit. But Judge Arthur Engoron said it ignored city zoning laws when it did.

In the ruling, Engoron wrote that the zoning resolution "mandates the findings that the planning commission must make in approving any modification by special permit or otherwise to a LSDR (Large Scale Residential Development)" — finding that the approvals provided to the buildings were therefore nullified.

While the city had argued that those railing against the development were "distorting" the language of the zoning resolution, Engoron ruled the plaintiffs — a group of community groups and individuals, including the Lower East Side Organized Neighbors — had relied on it appropriately. The judge rejected some of the groups' other arguments, however, including assertions the approvals violated a deed restriction that meant some of the properties had to be used for housing for elderly, low-income people and those with disabilities. 

It is the second time this judge has dealt a blow to the projects; last year, he found that the developers had to go through the city's famously complex Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, siding with the City Council and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, the plaintiffs in that suit.

The projects would create 2,775 rental units in the neighborhood, at 247 Cherry St., 260 South St. and 259 Clinton St., adding some 2.5M SF of total development. The developers had previously said that the projects would created roughly 700 affordable housing units. The city granted the approvals in 2018.

The city’s Law Department is considering its options and plans to appeal. A spokesperson said to TRD the city is confident that the court will ultimately find that city followed zoning rules and “will allow this important project to move forward.”

“This is an amazing victory and it comes on the tails of victories across the city,” Tony Quey Lin, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told TRD in a statement. “The people are taking the city to court, and we are winning.”

Earlier this month, the city's real estate development community was shocked by a judge's ruling that could potentially force the developers of the luxury tower at 200 Amsterdam Ave. to deconstruct 20 stories.

While critics of the building argued the finding was a major win against developers’ overreach, real estate players claimed it was dangerous precedent and proof of anti-development sentiment expanding to the courts.