An attorney for three Mount Vernon residents has gone to state court seeking to block a $78 million affordable-housing development and throw out city approvals this summer of the Atlantic Development Group project.
A spokesman for the developer called the lawsuit “baseless.”
Based in Manhattan, Atlantic recently had site plans approved for a $60 million, 159-unit apartment building with 20,000 square feet of retail space at 203 Gramatan Ave. and an $18 million, 60-unit senior housing building at 144 Crary Ave. The company in a third phase expects to build a 131-unit market-rate condominium tower at 30 Oakley Ave. The total project cost was estimated at $120 million.
Michael Stolper, executive vice president and general counsel at Atlantic Development, recently said the project will stand at the gateway to Mount Vernon”™s downtown corridor and be a “transformative project” in creating “a new Main Street” for the city.
But attorney Albet J. Pirro in his legal petition said the Atlantic project was not given a “hard review” by city officials and instead “has been pushed through the approval process with complete disregard for the kind of comprehensive environmental and planning review that a major project requires under both local and state laws.”
He is asking a state Supreme Court judge to annul the city planning board”™s project approval and the Mount Vernon City Council”™s adoption of related zoning changes and State Environmental Quality Review Act findings for the project. The court action also would block the city from issuing building permits to the developer.
Pirro represents three owners of properties that adjoin the project: Frank Deleonardis, Robert Dadarria and Sheriece Mckeazie.
Michael Stolper, EVP and General Counsel at Atlantic Development Group
“We worked with the city of Mount Vernon for the better part of two years studying the environmental and economic impact of this project. The revitalizing benefits that Mount Vernon will see are documented throughout these findings. Mount Vernon will net millions of dollars both in the short and long term between capital improvements and tax revenue.
Consider your sources here. This is a baseless suit filed by a lawyer who was sent to federal prison for tax fraud and who lobbies for real estate interests in Mt. Vernon. More than that, the plaintiff in this case was singled out by his neighbors at a public hearing for trying to mislead them about the project.”
