Renew 81 for All v. New York State Department of Transportation

The New York Civil Liberties Union moved to file an amicus brief in support of respondents challenging a lawsuit to halt the demolition of a crumbling portion of the I-81 viaduct in Syracuse, New York. Submitted in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Onondaga County, in the case Renew 81 For All v. NYS Department of Transportation, the brief underscores the environmental and racial justice necessity to tear down the I-81 viaduct to remedy the displacement and destruction of the 15th Ward, and replace it with the Community Grid.  The NYCLU argues that Renew I-81’s plan to keep the highway in place or build a new, higher structure will perpetuate the same racist history and failed practices of the past five decades, forcing Black residents to shoulder the effects of the highway for the benefit of the predominately whiter, wealthier businesses and residents in the suburbs.