NEWS: Washington Square Park re-design overturned by Judge
From the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/nyregion/27park.html
Judge Halts Washington Sq. Park Redesign
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
A State Supreme Court judge has halted the city’s plan to redesign Washington Square Park, saying the Bloomberg administration violated the City Charter by failing to notify the public about all of the proposed changes.
The ruling, handed down on Tuesday by Justice Emily Jane Goodman, bars the Department of Parks and Recreation from beginning a $16 million renovation until the redesign plan goes through the entire approval process again, beginning with the local community board.
The proposal must also be re-approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Arts Commission.
The decision is the latest setback for the parks department in its effort to push through the park’s most significant alteration since the late 1950’s, when Eleanor Roosevelt and the urbanist Jane Jacobs took an active role and traffic was banned.
Now the city will again be forced to make its case for redesign, which has inspired impassioned debate in Greenwich Village and includes plans to move the centerpiece fountain about 22 feet so it aligns with the park’s arch and to install a perimeter fence.
It is an interesting legal decision which, if upheld, will have broad ramifications for the role of Community Boards in land-sue decisions.