City nixes plan to relocate Tribeca court amid residents’ pleas

The city abandoned a bid to relocate a criminal summons court from 346 Broadway to 71 Thomas Street in Tribeca following a lawsuit that aims to block the relocation.

Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to move the Summons Arraignment part of the New York State Unified Court System, which deals with summons for low-level offenses and sees roughly 600 people daily, to 71 Thomas Street in October. The plan was quickly met with an outcry from area residents, who cited concerns about queues lining the street and “unsavory types,” as one Community Board 1 member told DNAinfo at the time.

A group of locals, including local chic restaurant Odeon’s owner Lynn Wagenknecht and former Daily News gossip team George Rush and Joanna Molloy, then sued to block the relocation. City attorneys reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, agreeing to axe the bid in return for the lawsuit being dropped, according to a report from Capital New York.

The court will still have to find a new home, now that 346 Broadway has sold to the Peebles Corporation and is to be converted to a hotel and condominiums.

“Once it is moved to another location, it will likely stay there for some significant period of time,” Richard Emery, the plaintiffs’ attorney, told Capital New York. [Capital New York] — Julie Strickland