An East Side couple appeared in a Buffalo courtroom for the first time Wednesday in support of a lawsuit that would force New York State to undertake a more comprehensive review of the environmental impact of the planned $1 billion Kensington Expressway tunnel-and-cap project.
Humboldt Parkway residents Terrence Robinson and Marcia Ladiana, who live along the expressway, fear the project will do more harm than good to the health of residents who live along the three-quarter-mile stretch where construction on the project could start later this year.
The couple filed the lawsuit in December against the state Department of Transportation, which is leading the project. Lawyers for the agency filed a motion Feb. 7 to dismiss the case, and Robinson and Ladiana filed written arguments in rebuttal.
Justice Daniel J. Furlong scheduled another hearing for March 7 after Susan Taylor, chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau in the State Attorney General’s Office, asked for more time to answer those arguments in writing. Taylor appeared by videoconference and was unavailable to comment afterward.
The lawsuit asks the court to force the DOT to conduct a more thorough review of health impacts under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which the plaintiffs claim the agency failed to do in conducting its environmental assessment.
They also say the project violates the state constitution and provisions of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, enacted in 2019, noting “the state must prioritize the health and safety of environmental justice communities in advancing greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
“We are seeking for the New York State Department of Transportation to comply with the existing and well-established law in following this process,” Robinson, who is also legal counsel for the couple, said outside the courtroom after the short proceeding. “We just want them to follow the law in what they do and the…
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