The George Eastman House has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to
prevent construction of an apartment complex on University Avenue in the East
Avenue Preservation District. The paperwork was filed Monday in state Supreme
Court.
The Eastman House is asking the court to reverse or nullify
decisions made by City of Rochester boards that allowed the project to proceed,
and to permanently halt the project.
Eastman House Director Bruce Barnes said in a December 6 letter
to Eastman House members that the 99-unit apartment complex proposed by Morgan
Management would cause irreversible damage to the national landmark. The complex
would be 20 feet from the Eastman House’s property line.
“Despite our determined efforts, city agencies have allowed
the project to proceed without regard to our landmark, our neighborhood, or the
East Avenue Preservation District,” Barnes said.
The city’s Preservation Board is scheduled to vote on the
project’s final required approval on Wednesday night, but the Eastman House has
asked the court to keep the city from taking any further action on the project.
Barnes and the Eastman House have opposed the project from
the outset, saying that the building would harm the view from the Eastman House
property, and that the complex is not permitted under the planned development
district which was created in 2011.
The lawsuit names Robert Morgan of Morgan Management, the
City of Rochester’s director of planning and zoning, the city’s Planning
Commission and Preservation Board, as well as the Monroe Voiture No. 111
Memorial Home, which owns the University Avenue property.
Supporters of the Morgan proposal say that the developer has
done everything asked of it to mitigate concerns; the design has gone through
several revisions. They also say that the project will be good for University
Avenue, and that the upscale apartments will attract young people and
empty-nesters.
The Eastman House’s petition to the court is embedded below, while all of the its initial filings are available here.
Verified Petition by jmouleatcity
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2013.
Eastman House, you just lost a member.
A friend of mine is a member. She said they sent a letter out about a year ago begging for more money because they needed to cover operational expenses. And yet they can afford a stupid, frivolous lawsuit? I hope their membership drops like flies.
Such a waste of money and time. This is progress and the Eastman house is showing anything but progressive ideals. Use the money for this lawsuit and paint the front of the Eastman house. It is in dire need of repair.