Sprayregen Lawsuit Coverage

Yesterday's press conference on the Sprayregen environmental lawsuit was covered by News 4, Fox and NY1; and was also covered in this morning's NY Post and Metro. As the NY1 report points out: "Lawyers say the city approved the plan based on the the vague promise of future engineering solutions. "What specific solutions, when, how, we submit no adequate details have been provided. This is simply unacceptable," said civil rights attorney Norman Siegel."

The Post had sent a photographer, indicating a more comprehensive look at the matter, but instead truncated the Austin Fenner story into a couple of short paragraphs. The story did highlight the fact that: "Nick Sprayregen, whose Tuck-It-Away storage facility sits on Broadway between 130th and 131st streets, believes that constructing a 2 million-square-foot "bathtub" surrounding the new buildings' foundations, similar to the one at Ground Zero, could be dangerous."

If the suit, one of four that has been filed-two FOIA suits have been successful-is successful we anticipate that the press will be a bit more diligent in its response. That being said, the university is facing a persistent critic who's intent upon preserving his property rights. Given the current development climate, the university would be wise to be more proactive in its pursuit of a negotiated settlement.

Greetings to all of Liz's avid Daily Politics readers-thanks for the link Liz.

Update

El Diario also weighed in today on the lawsuit. Here's the money quote from a soon to be displaced local resident: “Esto es racismo ambiental”, expresó la ecuatoriana Hilda Muentes, quien lleva 30 años viviendo en el mismo apartamento de la Calle 132. “Nos están tratando como basura”.