NYC activists lose lawsuit opposing East River Park demolition for flood mitigation

The city can keep moving ahead with a controversial flood protection plan for the Lower East Side, a state appeals court ruled.

The court on Thursday shot down a lawsuit from activists opposed to Mayor de Blasio’s estimated $1.45 billion plan to demolish East River Park, cover it in about 8 feet of landfill and build a new green space on top of that. The goal of the project is to protect the area from rising sea levels.

Local activists who wanted to keep the 45-acre park and its roughly 1,000 trees intact argued that the state legislature should review the mayor’s plans, a last-ditch effort to block demolition work.

But the state court of appeals on Thursday upheld previous rulings rejecting that claim, bringing the activists’ lawsuit to a close.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nyc-activists-lose-lawsuit-opposing-east-river-park-demolition-for-flood-mitigation/ar-AARVdJq