Lawsuit over Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 housing is dismissed

The case of the contested apartments at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6 is finally nearing its end: Today, New York state Supreme Court justice Carmen Victoria St. George dismissed the lawsuit against the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, along with the state and the developers behind the project.

“We are pleased with the Judge’s decision, which ensures that a public investment enjoyed by millions and envied in cities across the globe will thrive long into the future,” BBP president Eric Landau said in a statement. “With the park’s financial security now in place, we look forward to continuing to work with the community and all park users as we move closer to completion of this 85-acre gem.”

The lawsuit was filed back in 2016 by the Brooklyn Heights Association, and as we previously reported, at issue is whether the two-tower residential development rising at Pier 6 is, in fact, providing too much housing, thus violating the BBPC’s agreement to develop “only the amount [of housing] necessary to fund the park’s financial needs.”

“We need open space at the Park, not needless new condo towers,” Patrick Killackey, the president of the BHA, said in a statement at the time. The group took issue with the buildings’ proposed height, as well as whether or not shady goings-on led to the selection of RAL Development Group as a partner on the project.

St. George’s ruling rejects BHA’s arguments, noting that while the organization “provided rational alternatives to the analyses of respondents’ experts,” that’s not enough to kill the housing deal. “It simply means that respondents had more than one acceptable path to take in their review of this complex and multi-part project,” her ruling reads.

In a statement, the BHA said it was “disappointed” by the court’s decision. “There is no question that the towers now rising at Pier 6 far exceed the Park’s fiscal needs,” the statement continues. “BBPC and ESD should not have been permitted by the Court’s decision to violate the legal commitments reflected in the GPP.”

The group also said that it “is considering its next steps in its long-term effort to ensure that the BBPC complies with its legal obligations.”

Pier 6 will soon be home to 266 apartments, 100 of which will be below market-rate, across two buildings. Construction on those towers (which will rise 28 and 14 stories) began in 2017, and has made significant progress since. The shorter building, which will be home to the affordable apartments, has already topped out, and the taller one is expected to do so by the spring. The latter tower will be known as Quay Tower, and will have condos starting at $1.9 million.

• All Pier 6 coverage [Curbed]