Four years after NYLPI filed a lawsuit against a filthy and noxious garbage facility on behalf of grassroots community organization Cleanup North Brooklyn and other longtime residents in the overburdened Brooklyn community, Senior Supervising Counsel Melissa Iachan and co-counsel Karen Steel from Schindler Cohen and Hochman LLP (SCH) appeared (telephonically!) in Court to argue against two motions to dismiss the case.

The litigation is a strategic component of NYLPI’s larger work with communities across NYC who suffer the impacts from hosting a disproportionate amount of waste infrastructure in their neighborhoods. Together with co-counsel from SCH, NYLPI has advocated on behalf of Cleanup North Brooklyn and its members in the long-term litigation, navigating a number of procedural delays and tactics attempted by the Defendants.

Thursday’s oral arguments addressed two separate Motions to Dismiss filed by all five Defendants in the case. After hearing from attorneys for the Defendants and Melissa and Karen for over an hour, the judge issued her ruling from the bench and denied the entirety of both Motions to Dismiss, giving NYLPI — and the community in North Brooklyn — a big win in court.

NYLPI continues to advocate on behalf of Cleanup North Brooklyn and communities who bear the brunt of dirty waste transfer facilities in Southeast Queens and the South Bronx. It is the goal of the Environmental Justice program to bring greater equity into how the city’s waste is processed. This work will continue by advancing strategic impact litigation like the case argued Thursday, as well as through legislative advocacy and community organizing support.