The New York State Supreme Court appellate division issued a decision yesterday stating that the city can proceed with the 2009 rezoning of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park, Crain’s reported.

The city rezoned a 128-block area in Sunset Park in 2009, putting 50-foot height limits on side streets, but allowing for taller residential projects on Fourth and Seventh avenues. Opponents of the changes — residences, churches and the non-profit Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association — said that the rezoning would displace the area’s low-income families, and filed in New York State Supreme Court against the city’s Planning Department, claiming that the department had not conducted environmental reviews required for zoning changes.
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Plaintiff Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, and a Randall’s Island sports field

The New York Supreme Court has ruled that the city acted inappropriately when it entered into an arrangement that would allow 20 private schools to pay for exclusive use of newly constructed sports fields on Randall’s Island off the coast of East Harlem. As a result, the city will have to undergo a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure before it can pursue any concession with private schools. Plaintiff Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, said that the exclusive-use agreement between the city and the private schools would have denied public schoolchildren the same opportunities. “Our public parks must be protected from these pay-to-play schemes,” Croft said in a written statement released by his organization today. “Major land use decisions must go through the proper environmental reviews and clearly this massive project did not.” TRD

Developer Kent Swig was denied a motion to reargue or stay enforcement of a $32 million judgment by Square Mile Structured Debt yesterday. New York State Supreme Court Judge Bernard Fried ruled that Swig failed to prove any legal errors that would allow him to reopen or delay the case. The judgment was issued against Swig after he defaulted on a $28 million personal loan from Square Mile that was used to help develop the troubled Sheffield57 condominium near Columbus Circle. Fried denied the motion despite allegations that Swig was denied access to critical documents and that Square Mile misrepresented key facts to Swig. Fried ruled that the only way to issue a stay would be if the court “overlooked or misapprehended the facts or the law.” The ruling will likely provide further hardship for Swig and his considerable number of real estate assets, which include Swig Equities, the real estate development firm, Helmsley-Spear, the commercial real estate firm previously owned by Harry Helmsley and Terra Holdings (where he is co-chairman and co-owner), the parent company of Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property. [more]

Developer and Terra Holdings Co-Chairman Kent Swig, has filed suit against an asset management firm for withholding nearly all of his compensation after a restraining order was issued to enforce a multi-million dollar judgment by Square Mile Structured Debt. Swig filed suit Sept. 24 against Manhattan-based Properties Asset Management Services in New York State Supreme Court, alleging the firm is withholding his compensation after Square Mile sent a subpoena requesting information about Swig’s salary and other compensation at Terra. No information was immediately available on the current amount of Swig’s compensation. [more]