Tribeca homeowners and businesses put on short notice of a relocation of a probation office to their neighborhood are taking New York City to court for making the decision without them.
The Department of Probation, currently fixed at 346 Broadway alongside the Criminal Summons Court, is set to move to 66 John Street, which has already been leased, as previously reported. Plaintiffs include nearby Pace University, discount apparel retailer Century 21 and residents, the New York Daily News reported. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who represents the area, also threw his support behind the suit.
“I have deep concerns about this plan, as do many residents of our community, and I do not believe the city has adequately addressed those concerns,” Silver said in a letter to Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway and city Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Edna Wells Handy. “There has been a lack of transparency when it comes to communicating these plans to the community and there has not been enough engagement with the public.”
The city-owned Broadway location is to be sold to the Peebles Corporation, which plans to convert the space into luxury condominiums. The Summons court’s relocation to 71 Thomas Street is still in negotiations, though that has also met with neighborhood resistance. [NYDN] — TRD