Diamond Wants Tunnel Reopened, Plans Lawsuit Against DOT

Bob Diamond, who rediscovered the Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel in the early 1980s, and has been giving tours there since, is now suing the city to regain access to the abandoned site. Diamond sent us the above letter, explaining that it's "the opening shot of our lawsuit against DOT. We had to first give them 7 days to respond. When DOT fails to do so next week, the lawsuit papers against DOT will be filed with the Courts. I'm truly sorry it went this way, but its all on DOT's head."

To recap: the tunnel was shut down the tunnel as it was about to host an event on the weekend of December 10th, following that, the FDNY declared that all tours of the tunnel were now canceled, and anyone who attempted to access the tunnel would be arrested. Diamond believes that the DOT is behind this, and is pulling strings to shut down his tours; previously they supported the tours, and Diamond sent us an email from the agency stating, "Inspection report shows that the tunnel is in good condition and safe. You may continue usage of the tunnel."

Now the Brooklyn Paper reports on his lawsuit, which will address how the city barred him without allowing him to address concerns about air quality and emergency exits. Diamond tells them, “The FDNY gave us a list and said to fix it [but] the Department of Transportation says, ‘No, you can’t go in there anymore.’" He hasn't spoken about what the lawsuit will claim, exactly, but has said he'll be seeking significant damages. In the meantime, he's started an online petition, which you can sign here if you ever want to see the inside of that tunnel!

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on December 27, 2010 12:30 PM

Comments [rss]

KevinJWalsh

I'm with Bob Diamond. This is all about Bloomberg, the DOT, and their attempts to squash an impertinent ant.

www.forgotten-ny.com

twophrasebark

It's pretty obvious what's going on here. Bob wants to break down that wall at the end of the tunnel to see what's back there. Feds have remains of spaceship that crashed into Park Slope in 1960 stored there (was covered up as the collision of two planes). Feds are worried National Geographic crew will get too close to the truth.

I'm sure Bob will back me up on this.

Spirit of 76

Don't be ridiculous. It's obvious what's really happening is Diamond is getting dangerously close to finding John Wilkes Booth's diary down there. It has information not just implicating, but actually fingering important Federal agencies and wealthy, famous families as complicit in Lincoln's assassination.

Forget National Geographic. Quick, somebody call Geraldo Rivera!

Derek Balling

I'm a little confused about something.

Brooklyn Historical Railway Association doesn't own the tunnels. Presumably, the DOT does, or the City, or some government agency of some sort.

What, exactly, is the BHRA's "standing" here? "We've been trespassing for years and nobody's said a word until now" isn't a strong legal defense that I'd base a huge case on.

Spirit of 76

They weren't trespassing. Stop jumping to conclusions. Notice the wording that DOT has "revoked consent." To anyone with a brain, that means DOT previously gave consent. Sure, DOT has the legal authority to revoke it whenever they wish, but Diamond contends that the demands they suddenly raised are arbitrary and therefore illegal. I'm inclined to agree.

jaycjay

" Diamond contends that the demands they suddenly raised are arbitrary and therefore illegal. I'm inclined to agree."

Arbitrariness is illegal now?

TheOtherBob

Well...maybe. If there were some sort of administrative law claim, there could be some theory under which a purely arbitrary decision by the DOT that impacted usage by a citizen could be held to be a violation of the law authorizing the DOT to issue regulations and make decisions. I don't know enough administrative law to know -- but that's the best theory I've got.

(I didn't say it was a good one.)