Business and Residents Alliance of East Harlem v. Jackson

The Business and Residents Alliance of East Harlem (Alliance) (plaintiff) sued real estate developer Tiago Holdings, LLC (Tiago) (defendant) pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), seeking declaratory judgment requiring a Section 106 historic-preservation review of Tiago’s proposed East Harlem development project and for preliminary injunction of the project until the Section 106 review was completed. The East Harlem project was part of a broader revitalization initiative in New York City that arose from federal legislation authorizing the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to designate urban empowerment zones to receive block grants from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HUD designated sections of New York, including East Harlem, as one of those zones, and HHS distributed $100 million in grants to a coalition of state and local agencies charged with managing fund allocation and operation of the New York empowerment zone. HUD retained the option to revoke the empowerment-zone designation should local agencies change the boundaries of the zone or fail to make progress on or comply with the goals of the development plan. Otherwise, authority to approve individual projects and distribute federal funds fell entirely upon the state and local agencies. Tiago submitted a proposal for a retail development in East Harlem that included demolition of the vacant Washburn Wire Factory. Neither Tiago nor any of the local agencies sought or performed a Section 106 review. After demolition of the factory was initiated, the Alliance filed suit. The district court denied the Alliance’s motion for preliminary injunction, and the Alliance appealed.