Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment could get hit with a lawsuit

It seemed like the contentious Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment in Crown Heights was beginning to make progress. Last week, developers BFC Partners reached an agreement with City Council member Laurie Cumbo and the city to offer more affordable apartments while ditching plans to create condos within the development. However, the project is now being hit with litigation.

According to The Real Deal, the Legal Aid Society has announced plans to challenge the proposed redevelopment project in a lawsuit. The organization is working alongside several like-minded housing activists and will challenge plans put forth by developers along with questioning the city’s methods of evaluating tenant displacement in land use reviews and decisions.

As part of the recent agreement, BFC Partners agreed to scrap plans for 60 condos and to up the number of affordable rentals to 250 of the project’s 400 apartments, with rents ranging from around $521 to $1,166 per month. However, activists contended that the rents still weren’t affordable enough and that the project should be fully affordable since it is being constructed on city-owned property.

The Legal Aid Society will disclose details of the litigation on Wednesday, November 29 at 11 a.m. outside of City Hall. Meanwhile, a full council vote for the redevelopment project is set to take place on Thursday, November 30 and it is expected to be approved.

• Legal Aid Society is also trying to kill the Bedford-Union Armory project [TRD]
• Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment loses condos, gains more affordable housing [Curbed]