The group organizing a massive protest on Sunday before the start of the Republican National Convention told a judge yesterday that it will not rally on the West Side Highway, even if it is not given permission to gather in Central Park.

The group, United for Peace and Justice, said it will still march from 23rd Street past Madison Square Garden at 34th Street. The march could draw as many as 250,000 people, organizers have said.

Leslie Cagan, the group's coordinator, testified yesterday that the cost of staging a rally on the West Side Highway, which would run as much as $630,000, made the plan impossible.

"We are still planning to march," she said, but without the park, "there will be no rally."

Ms. Cagan's testimony came during a three-hour hearing before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann, the administrative judge of the Supreme Civil Court. Justice Silbermann said she would rule today on United for Peace and Justice v. Bloomberg, 111893/04, the group's request for a preliminary injunction against New York City.

Justice Silbermann moved yesterday's hearing from the second floor to a larger courtroom on the third floor. She allowed video and still photographers to capture the proceeding.

Few seats were left unoccupied, and judging by the slogans on visitors' T-shirts and the reaction to closing arguments, nearly everyone was there on behalf of the protest group. Other supporters took up the group's cause outside the courthouse. Their chant of "Whose Park? Our Park!" could be heard clearly in court, at times drowning out testimony and remarks by the attorneys.

There were no outbursts in court however, though the group's lead attorney, Jeffrey E. Fogel of the Center for Constitutional Rights, received nearly a minute-long applause after delivering an impassioned closing speech in which he described Central Park as "our town square." Justice Silbermann did not gavel for silence.

Throughout the morning, Mr. Fogel tried to cast the Parks Department as an agency that has failed to follow its own rules for granting permits.

Questioning Elizabeth W. Smith, who oversees permit applications as the department's chief of marketing and corporate sponsorship, Mr. Fogel hammered at policies the agency has developed that limit large gatherings to protect the park's refurbished grounds.

He repeatedly described the rules as "secret" and said much of Central Park had been deemed off limits to large gatherings without the input of New Yorkers and with little mind to the role the park has played for those who wish to voice dissent.

Defending the city, Assistant Corporation Counsel Jonathan L. Pines did not argue about the permit process. Instead, as he did last week, he described the current situation as "incredibly frustrating" and told Justice Silbermann that the plaintiffs had unreasonably delayed their court action after agreeing to hold a rally on the highway.

The group has asked to use the Great Lawn, which is in the center of the park between 81st and 84th streets.

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