GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Judge Dismisses Stadium Lawsuits

NEW YORK CITY-Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn today dismissed four consolidated lawsuits that challenged the bidding procedures used by Metropolitan Transportation Authority in its sale of the Western Hudson Rail Yards site to the New York Jets. Cahn’s decision also left intact four other legal challenges includingtwo suits questioning the adequacy of the city’s Environmental Impact Statement One was filed by the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association, neighborhood residents and Madison Square Garden; the other was brought by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. There is also a suit brought by individual neighborhood residents and Madison Square Garden against the Empire State Development Corp. alleging that it acted illegally in approving the plan as well as a suit brought by the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association in federal court charging that the Hudson Yards plan, including the stadium, violates the federal Clean Air Act.

Cahn ruled that the MTA “was not obligated to issue a Request for Proposals.” He wrote that the MTA did not act in “an arbitrary and capricious manner” in making its determination. The Public Authorities Control Board has a vote on the matter scheduled for tomorrow.

The Jets’ $720-million plan calls for the New York Sports and Convention Center to be built over the yards located between 11th and 12th avenues and 30th and 33rd streets and is anticipated to cost upwards of $1.4 billion. The NYSCC will be able to operate as a 75,000-seat stadium or a plenary hall seating up to 45,000 people when used in combination with an expanded Jacob Javits Convention Center.