On March 25, a group of civic associations, elected officials, and individual petitioners filed a proceeding in the Supreme Court, Richmond County, under Article 78 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), seeking a judgment setting aside three recently enacted amendments to the New York City’s Zoning Resolution collectively referred to as “City of Yes.” The petitioners in the case allege that these amendments were improperly enacted because the City did not fully follow environmental review procedures under New York state law and New York City Regulations. The case names Mayor Eric Adams, the City Council, the City Planning Commission, and the Department of City Planning as respondents.
The filing of the case does not, in and of itself, prohibit the City from implementing the amendments and does not prevent the Department of Buildings from issuing building permits for developments that are consistent with the Zoning Resolution as amended. As of this writing, the petitioners have not moved for preliminary relief in the form of a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction prohibiting the processing or approval of application for building permits.
Article 78 Proceedings of this nature typically take months to be resolved at the trial court level and are often followed by appeals to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, which can take an additional year to 18 months.
