NEW YORK, NY March 27, 2008 —A private land owner is suing Columbia University and the city to prevent its 17-acre expansion plans.

Norman Siegel, is representing Tuck-It-Away Associates, which owns some of the land to be used in the project.

He says his client is concerned about a part of the development, know as the "bathtub." He says it's a 2 million square-foot space that sit almost 100-feet below ground and it's rim is barely above the Harlem River. He says the university didn't wait for all of the environmental impact studies to be completed before moving forward.

SIEGEL: Laboratories working with hazardous chemical and biological materials, and in the event of a catastrophic flood hazardous materials from these facilities could be washed out into the West Harlem community.

REPORTER: Siegel says his clients are not trying to stop the project.

A spokeswoman for Columbia University says while they will not comment on pending litigation, they are confident that the extended public land use and environmental review processes were rigorous and comprehensive.