Brooklyn Arena Eviction Hearing Set for April 21

Lawyers for the Empire State Development Corp. will seek an eviction order for those remaining in the Barclays Center footprint during a court hearing a week from Wednesday.  The judge in the case, Abraham Gerges, will then have to decide whether to grant the order--and set a date for the removal of the last holdouts.  The number of people and businesses affected is uncertain.  A month ago, there were 35 residents and three businesses still in the footprint.  It is uncertain whether any have been relocated.

A lawyer for some holdouts doesn't believe Gerges will move quickly on an eviction request.  "I guess that could happen," Matthew Brinckerhoff said of an April 21 eviction order. "I think that is manifestly unlikely, and borderline impossible, if nothing else because it's clear that Justice Gerges--he wants everybody to try to work this out somehow. He said this much in court. I think he's going to want to exhaust, as any judge should, frankly, all possible options before he orders the sheriff to come and remove people from their homes."

Brinkerhoff said he hoped to delay the eviction--and thus Mikhail Prokhorov's approval as owner--for months, while Charles Webb, the ESDC lawyer, said that each month eviction is delayed costs the developer $7 million.

• ESDC pushes for eviction order by April 21; lawyer for some condemnees says timeline is unlikely - Norman Oder - Atlantic Yards Report