A New York trial court dismissed a case brought by plaintiffs who contended that development of a large residential project on Manhattan’s Lower East Side would violate the New York State Constitution’s new Environmental Rights (or “Green”) Amendment, which provides that “each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Noting that a New York appellate court had previously rejected other challenges to the project, the court declined to allow the plaintiffs in this case to use the Green Amendment as means to obtain “another ‘bite at the apple’ under circumstances where every previous request has proved unsuccessful and where, on this record, nothing substantive has changed in the intervening years.” The court found that the plaintiffs’ alleged harms, including increased carbon dioxide emissions, were concerns that had been addressed in environmental reviews under the State Environmental Quality Review Act and City Environmental Quality Review, and that there was “no basis to revisit” the environmental analysis.

Lawsuit alleging that development of three skyscrapers on Lower East Side of Manhattan violated the New York Constitution's Environmental Rights Amendment.

Marte v. City of New York

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New York Court Rejected Green Amendment Challenge to Manhattan Development

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New York Court Rejected Green Amendment Challenge to Manhattan Development

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