The Huntington Town Board is currently seeking input from residents, businesses and others for a new plan for the redevelopment of the Melville Employment Center (“MEC”). The new plan will build upon a prior plan that was...more
After more than half a century, the Village of Sea Cliff is in the process of adopting a new Comprehensive Plan to update the 1970 Village Master Plan. New York State recommends that municipalities update their Comprehensive...more
On January 13, 2022, the Brookhaven Town Board voted unanimously to adopt new legislation that creates the Greater Bellport Overlay District. The law aims to foster redevelopment in the hamlet of Bellport and encourages the...more
2/22/2022
/ Affordable Housing ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Infrastructure ,
Neighborhood Revitalization ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Redevelopment ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Maps
On September 2, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S.50001/A.40001), which includes a number of statutory protections and other emergency public health measures adopted in response to the recent increase in the...more
The Suffolk County legislature is currently considering a bill (I.R. 1478-2021) that would provide towns and villages with a greater opportunity to weigh in on certain zoning applications proposed in adjacent municipalities...more
In 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued an Order governing the installation of small cell nodes and other telecommunications facilities in an effort to speed up the deployment of the newest generation of...more
6/1/2021
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
FCC ,
Municipalities ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Right of Way ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
After several stalled attempts, New York State became the 16th state to legalize recreational cannabis (marijuana) use. This occurred on March 31, 2021, when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Marijuana Regulation and...more
4/12/2021
/ Agribusiness ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Municipalities ,
Recreational Use ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Governments
In an effort to stimulate the revitalization of abandoned, vacant or underutilized commercial shopping centers, bowling alleys and health club properties, the Brookhaven Town Board recently voted to adopt a new zoning...more
This blog post provides an update to a post that was published on November 30, 2020, regarding a dispute over the Town of Oyster Bay’s recently adopted rules governing conduct at public meetings. The new procedures, which...more
In response to a resolution passed by the Oyster Bay Town Board on October 6, 2020, that purports to create rules of decorum at Town Board meetings and seeks to prohibit inappropriate behavior during board meetings, a Town...more
As a “home rule” state, New York’s zoning and other land use decisions are typically made at the village, town, or city level. However, Section 239-m of the General Municipal Law (GML) requires a referral to, and a...more
In May 2019, National Grid – the utility company that provides natural gas to approximately 1.8 million customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island – announced a moratorium on the processing of applications...more
11/18/2019
/ Applications ,
Demand Response ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Moratorium ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Supply and Demand ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Water Quality
The Appellate Division, Second Department, recently issued a decision that appears to be a departure from prior precedent and is certain to create confusion with respect to when to commence an Article 78 claim challenging a...more
9/30/2019
/ Appeals ,
CPLR ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
Motion for Leave ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Ripeness ,
SEQRA ,
Site Plans ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Urban Planning & Development
The backyard chicken movement that has been rapidly gaining momentum across the United States has firmly taken hold on Long Island. The desire for homeowners to raise chickens takes various forms and can be rewarding on many...more
The Hempstead Town Board recently approved a sweeping rezoning of portions of North Lawrence and Inwood that are designed to encourage mixed-use, commercial and transit-oriented developments....more
A significant portion of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s original fiscal year 2020 budget proposal discusses in detail his idea for a “Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act,” to be known colloquially as the “cannabis law.”...more
The Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve Act, Environmental Conservation Law, Article 57 (the “Act”), was adopted in 1993 for the purpose of protecting approximately 102,500 acres of the Long Island Pine Barrens located...more
The generally accepted practice in towns and villages throughout New York is that public and private schools need not comply with the zoning rules applicable to other property owners. However, the Appellate Division, Third...more
Following the adoption of a moratorium on development along Port Washington’s waterfront, North Hempstead Town officials have proposed new zoning regulations designed to preserve public access and prevent excess building in...more
Local governments in New York may regulate land use within their borders directly through their zoning codes and indirectly by adopting a variety of other statutes and regulations. ...more
On March 28, 2018, the Babylon Town Board adopted a moratorium on any new land use applications that seek to increase a parcel’s wastewater limits established by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (“SCDHS”) by...more
In Matter of Save America’s Clocks, Inc. v. City of New York, the majority of a divided 3-2 Appellate Division, First Department, panel attempted to clarify the authority of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission...more
A fierce legal battle is currently being waged between preservationists and the City of New York (“City”) over a parcel of land in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, known as Marx Brothers Playground. The parcel, which is located...more
Fire Island is a 32-mile long, slender barrier sand bar island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Shore of Long Island. The island, which varies in width from as little as about 550 feet to not more than about...more
10/30/2017
/ Beachfront Properties ,
Condemnation ,
Conservation ,
Department of the Interior ,
Land Developers ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Municipalities ,
National Park Service ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
In this post, which is the second segment of a three-part series, we will highlight the various ways that local governments facing fiscal challenges have turned to imposing fees related to the administration of their zoning,...more