ELR Citation: ELR 20394
No(s). 71 CIV 4315 (S.D.N.Y. Jan 19, 1978)

The court dissolves an injunction against construction of a low-income housing project as part of an urban renewal program after determining that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has fulfilled its duty to consider reasonable alteratives under §102(2)(E) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Special Environmental Clearance prepared by HUD meets the requirements of that section of NEPA as set forth in the Second Circuit's 1975 opinion, 5 ELR 20497, remanding the case for the entry of injunctive relief pending full compliance with the Act. The clearance considered alternatives to the proposed project pursuant to §102(2)(C) rather than §102(2)(E), the provision specifically mentioned in the Second Circuit's mandate, but this deviation is harmless. The former section requires a more intensive investigation of alternatives than does the latter, and the discussion of alternatives in the clearance more than meets the requirements §102(2)(C). The court also finds that HUD discharged its duty to examine alternatives with good-faith objectivity and in full accordance with the procedures required by law, that the agency's action was thus neither arbitrary nor capricious, and that a public hearing on the Special Environmental Clearance was not required. The complaint is dismissed.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Eugene J. Morris
Demov, Morris, Levin & Shein
40 W. 57th St., New York NY 10019
(212) 757-5050

Counsel for Defendants
Robert B. Fiske Jr., U.S. Attorney; Peter C. Salerno, Ass't U.S. Attorney
One St. Andrew Plaza, New York NY 10007
(212) 791-0055

Allen G. Schwartz, Corp. Counsel; Leonard Grunstein, Ass't Corp. Counsel
Municipal Bldg., New York NY 10007
(212) 566-3929