Mayor Bloomberg wants opponents of the current plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park to sue him, too.
In court papers filed June 7, the mayor and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe asked for permission to respond to a lawsuit against the state by opponents of the waterfront condo-and-park development.
“The size and the scope of the project, its prominent location within the city and its importance to city residents demonstrate that the city has a vital interest in participating in these proceedings,” Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo wrote in his court filing.
The Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund lawsuit charges that the state’s Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation broke the law by including six high-rise condos within the waterfront development. Planners say that tax revenue from the condos will pay for the upkeep of the “park,” but opponents say private housing can not be built in a public park.
Defense Fund spokeswoman Judi Francis said the city’s motion to join the suit was a sign of her group’s success.
“They are taking us seriously because they know we have a good case,” she said.
If the city and the state beat back the lawsuit, Brooklyn Bridge Park will become the city’s first public green space funded by residential and commercial development within its borders.
