Several months after Nat Hyman sued Allentown over its alleged failure to address a homeless encampment along the Jordan Creek Greenway, lawyers for the prominent developer are threatening further legal action against the city, citing environmental concerns.
Lawyers for Hyman sent Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk a “60-day notice” of their intent to file a federal lawsuit against the city, citing environmental and related laws including the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Lawyers from environmental law firm Manko Gold Kather Fox LLP write that the city has “abdicated its responsibility” to maintain residents’ state constitutional right to “clean air, pure water and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.”
Specifically, lawyers allege that the city has “allowed and encouraged” the homeless encampments to remain, which has led to waste – including human excrement – trash, debris and hazardous materials, leeching into Jordan Creek…