Work On Natural History Museum Halted Again As Court Hears Appeal

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side preservation group has again won an order to limit construction work on the American Museum of Natural History's planned expansion into Theodore Roosevelt Park a week after a state judge ruled to dismiss the group's legal challenge of the project.

The museum will be prohibited from doing any construction work that will affect green spaces within the park as long as the Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park's appeal of a Dec. 10 ruling is in front of an appeals court, the group's chairman William Raudenbush told Patch.

"This is an extraordinary development, and we remain confident that we are correct in the matters of law that protect city agencies from arbitrary and capriciously dispensing with public land by sidestepping the proper processes and protections enshrined in the law," Raudenbush said in a statement.

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The order comes just days after the American Museum of Natural History announced it would resume construction in full at Theodore Roosevelt Park, including the removal of seven trees currently occupying space for the planned Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation.

A museum spokesman said that the institution is confident that the decision to dismiss Community United's lawsuit will be upheld.

"The Museum is confident that Judge Kotler’s December 10, 2018 clear decision on the merits, which dismissed the entire case, will be affirmed on appeal. Yesterday’s interim stay order is essentially confined to seven trees," a museum spokesman said in a statement.

"The Museum will continue to focus on the numerous aspects of the project that are already moving forward and on its commitment to bringing to New Yorkers and visitors from around the world the expanded educational and scientific resources made possible by the Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation."

State Supreme Court judge Lynn Kotler ruled against the Community United to Protect Theodore Roosevelt Park's legal challenge of the $383 million Gilder Center. The preservation group argued that the city Parks Department incorrectly interpreted a 142-year-old law when it approved the American Museum of Natural History's plan to build its new facility in the park.

Community United also argued that the museum should have been required to go through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure to obtain permits for the expansion, which Kolter disagreed with.

The American Museum of Natural History filed building plans for the Gilder Center in August 2017 after receiving approvals for the project from Community Board 7 and the city Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2016.

The $383 million Gilder Center will expand the American Museum of Natural History's footprint into Theodore Roosevelt Park by a quarter-acre, according to museum plans. The new five-story facility will add a total of 230,000 square feet of space to the American Museum of Natural History, according to plans filed with the Department of Buildings. The American Museum of Natural History plans to complete the Gilder Center by 2021.

Rendering by Studio Gang Architects courtesy American Museum of Natural History