Looking closer at the NIMBY lawsuit to block the Gowanus rezoning this morning, and it is shockingly thin.

The lead argument is that the City didn’t give the Community Board 30-days’ notice of its plan to certify rezoning on Jan. 19th. But on Dec. 18th the City emailed the Community Board expressly giving "notice" that it would “certify no sooner than Jan. 19th”

So the lawsuit argues instead that the email was insufficient because it includes a *link* to a website with information about the project, instead of putting that info in the email itself. And on the website, you have to type in “Gowanus” to find the info. Seriously, that's it.

Next, they claim the City failed to publish notice on its website of its plans. But DCP's website says it "expects to present the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan ... on Jan. 19.” And here’s a story from December about the City’s announcement: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gowanus-rezoning-start-date/

The next claim is that the City didn’t forward certain application materials to the Community Board. Which is weird, because the application materials are on the Community Board’s google drive.

They argue that City law prohibits virtual community board meetings. But City law just requires a “public hearing” §197-c(e), 62 R.C.N.Y. §2-03(d). And Gov. Cuomo issued an executive order allowing local public bodies to “hold … public hearing[s] remotely.” E.O. 202.15.

Which makes sense, because if in-person public hearing requirements weren’t waived, then our choice would be to have dangerous public gatherings during a pandemic, or have City government grind to a halt…during a pandemic.

Not much left. The suit argues that the City’s allegedly deficient notice and its plan to hold virtual hearings violates due process, and will somehow deprive the NIMBYs of their property rights. But the only thing depriving them of property are these legal bills.

And, finally, in an argument that would make even Josh Hawley blush, they say that holding virtual hearings violates the First Amendment. Which is pretty rich, coming from people who are suing to stop a public forum from taking place.

This suit shouldn’t—and very likely won’t—succeed. But success isn’t the point. Other spurious suits (see the 14th Street busway) have won delays. And that’s what the NIMBYs are after. When this is done, we need real reform to stop nonsense suits from gumming up local democracy