Housing plan for armory is hit by suit
THE LEGAL AID Society sued the city Wednesday in a bid to halt the controversial development project at Brooklyn’s BedfordUnion Armory.
The plan, which will get a final vote from the City Council Thursday, would turn the Crown Heights armory into 400 apartments and a recreation center.
But the suit charges a required environmental study failed to probe whether neighborhood residents would be driven out of their homes as a result of the project.
“I am very worried about being forced out,” said Crown Heights resident Lyris Ming, one of the plaintiffs. “I’ve seen new management come into the neighborhood in our building and push tenants out through high rent.”
The city concluded it did not have to do a detailed displacement study because the project would increase the area’s population by less than 5%, but the suit argues that conclusion was wrong.
A request for a temporary restraining order on the project was denied Wednesday. The case will go to court in February.