By Dustin Brown
The New York Power Authority cleared another legal hurdle to the construction of two Long Island City gas turbines last week, meaning the generators will likely begin running before a Brooklyn appellate court determines their fate after a June 29 hearing.
Last Thursday the court denied a request by the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest to issue an injunction that would halt construction on the two generators in Queens and eight others across the city until the case is resolved.
“We asked the appellate court to place an injunction on the Power Authority from building the plants and turning them on while the case was being considered, and we lost that,” said Gail Horwitz, a lawyer with the group.
NYPA announced last year it would place 10 gas turbines on six sites across the city to stave off a potential power crisis this summer. Although two lawsuits were filed in State Supreme Court by community coalitions attempting to block the power plants, they yielded conflicting results.
In Queens, Justice Joseph Golia ruled that NYPA had acted improperly in its rush to build the two Vernon Boulevard generators, and he ordered construction to halt immediately. The appeals court soon decided to allow construction on those turbines to continue as NYPA appealed the decision.
In a separate case, a Brooklyn judge concluded soon after that all 10 generators were completely legal. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which represented the community groups that initiated the suit, subsequently appealed the decision but failed last week to stop construction until the case is decided.
On June 29 the two cases will converge as their appeals are heard before the appellate court in Brooklyn.
While the cases have not been consolidated, Horwitz said the three-judge panel will hear them back-to-back.
NYPA spokesman Luis Rodriguez said the utility is “proceeding full-speed ahead” and that eight of the 10 generators, including the two in Queens, should be on-line sometime next month.
“Once the cases are heard, hopefully we can put this behind us,” he said. “If the judge rules in our favor, we can go forth, finish the construction and generate the power that’s urgently needed for New York City.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
