On July 15, our attorney Richard Lippes filed an appeal seeking to overturn a Brooklyn judge’s dismissal of our lawsuit. We believe the dismissal was contrary to law and involved inappropriate opining about aspects of the merits of the case without the benefit of full briefing and argument. 

The bottom line remains: no judge has actually fully considered the environmental law claims raised in the Voice of Gowanus suit.  

“This is not over. Not by any means. The city’s reckless push to subject people and the environment to harm in Gowanus - all to line the pockets of luxury developers - violates multiple state and federal laws. We are appealing for the sake of our many fellow community members at risk of toxic soil and flooding. We’re doing this for the Gowanus Canal, a waterway that may well have its EPA’s Superfund cleanup remedy undone by overdevelopment.” - Katia Kelly, plaintiff in the suit. 

“The merits of our environmental law claims have not yet been properly considered. The community is painfully aware of what a rotten deal this rezoning mess is for Gowanus. We know how many groups that claim to be  concerned about environment safety and justice have been bought off by promises of funding or facilities. If they really believe what they say about the environment, they can and should  oppose this disastrous rezoning. We will continue to pursue all available legal means to avoid this environmental catastrophe.” - Penn Rhodeen plaintiff in the suit 

Voice of Gowanus continues to push for the rule of law to prevail in a land use process that has been riddled with chicanery and failures, all of it an attempt to distract from the complex environmental realities that plague Gowanus, and that the rezone will exacerbate.