One group saw the City of Yes as a reason to say no to a housing project.

Apex Development Group is planning to build two 13-story buildings at 441 and 467 Prospect Avenue. The owner, Arrow Linen Supply Company, needs the zoning changed from R5B to R7-1.

A group of neighbors, dubbed Housing Not Highrises, has now tried to pause the land use review process by filing a petition in state court alleging that the Department of City Planning shouldn’t have certified the rezoning application starting the public review because it did not adequately account for the potential effects of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment.

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A decision in favor of the project’s opponents could have implications for other land-use applications. Howard Slatkin, executive director of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, likened it to shutting down an entire train line to do track repairs. A citywide zoning change could stop the city’s land use process.

“That premise is pretty insidious because it is not just a way to slow down this project, but it makes it pretty much impossible to update the zoning citywide,” he said.

“You walk and chew gum in order to keep the city running,” he added.

Read more at The Real Deal.

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