Failing to file a notice of claim pursuant to Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) Section 9802 can become a trap for the unwary litigator who commences a hybrid proceeding-action (Article 78 claim(s) combined with plenary...more
Failing to file a notice of claim pursuant to Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) Section 9802 can become a trap for the unwary litigator who commences a hybrid proceeding-action (Article 78 claim(s) combined with plenary...more
Last month, in Cuffaro v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Bellport (Index # 620453/2021), the Suffolk Supreme Court reinforced the existing and binding case law that a municipality’s issuance of a building permit to...more
Zoning codes are constantly evolving in response to perceived or real threats of overdevelopment. Generally, a municipality may in the reasonable exercise of its police power, amend its zoning code to be more restrictive in...more
Last week, in The Seaview at Amagansett, Ltd. v. Town of East Hampton Justice Paul J. Baisely, Jr. found the Town of East Hampton and several of its officials in civil and criminal contempt of the Appellate Division, Second...more
7/11/2022
/ Beachfront Properties ,
Civil Contempt Orders ,
Criminal Contempt ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Fee Simple ,
Fishing Industry ,
Homeowners Association (HOA) ,
Municipalities ,
New York ,
Property Owners ,
Protests ,
Public Access Laws ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Trespass
In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals upheld the Second Department’s decision in Hunters For Deer v Town of Smithtown that the Town may not regulate discharge setbacks for bow and arrow in a manner inconsistent with...more
On January 4, 2022, the New York Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the case of Hunters For Deer, Inc. v Town of Smithtown, where conflicting provisions of a Town of Smithtown firearm ordinance and the Environmental...more
Generally, many property owners assume that where a lot is held in single and separate ownership they are entitled to an area variance “as of right.” That is not entirely true. An exception to the single and separate...more
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin. This pithy logic from Benjamin Franklin to prevent fires in colonial Philadelphia should serve as a reminder to municipal boards of the strict compliance...more
Surprise! During the summer of Covid-19, the Town Board of Oyster Bay passed Local Law 4 of 2020, amending Chapter 246, the Town’s zoning code, to eliminate apartments over stores or offices as a permitted principal use in...more
The tide seems to have turned against the Town and the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of East Hampton (Trustees) in a recent decision by the Second Department....more
In D.P.R Scrap Metal. Inc., v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of North Hempstead, __AD3d__, [2d Dept 2020], the Appellate Division affirmed the grant of the Article 78 Petition of D.P.R. Scrap Metal Inc. (DPR) annulling...more
On September 21, 2020, the Supreme Court, Nassau County in Town of Oyster Bay v. 120 Westend LLC, Supreme Court, Suffolk County, Index No. 608065/2020 granted a preliminary injunction to the Town of Oyster Bay (“Town”)...more
This week, a not-for-profit hunters advocacy group, Hunters For Deer, Inc. (HFD), won a decisive victory in the Second Department based on New York’s preemption doctrine. In Hunters for Deer, Inc. v Town of Smithtown,...more
In the Matter of Giora Neeman v Town of Warwick, __AD3d__, 2020 NY Slip Op 03112, the Second Department recently declared that a development agreement entered into between the respondent/defendant Black Bear Family...more
As many of us continue to cocoon inside our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding supermarkets and anyone else for that matter, Long Island farms are seeing a resurgence in interest for locally grown produce and...more
The public health crisis created by COVID-19 has forced municipal officials statewide to cancel, suspend or postpone previously scheduled public hearings and meetings. How do public bodies conduct their necessary business...more
BANG! Yaphank, New York. In November 2019, after years of protracted ligation, Hunter Sports Shooting Grounds, Inc., (“HSSG”) the operator of the Suffolk County Skeet, Trap & Sporting Clays Range (“Range”), was dealt another...more
1/6/2020
/ Business Licenses ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Exemptions ,
Firearms ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Municipalities ,
Noise Complaints ,
Noise Control Ordinances ,
Nonconforming Use ,
Property Owners ,
Public Interest ,
Public Nuisance ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Urban Planning & Development
Legal pre-existing nonconforming uses (aka grandfathered uses) have a tenuous existence in New York. Although protected by vested property rights in the Constitution, many local zoning ordinances seek to eliminate these...more
10/21/2019
/ Abandoned Property ,
Abandonment ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Local Ordinance ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Municipalities ,
Nonconforming Use ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
The Second Department recently reversed a Suffolk County Supreme Court decision granting a use variance for a mother-daughter residence in the Village of Patchogue (the “Village”), in spite of statements made on the record by...more
Earlier this year, the Third Department handed down a surprising upset in the eminent domain arena. See, Matter of Adirondachk Historical Association v Village of Lake Placid, 161 A.D.3d 1256 [3d Dept 2018]....more
Split zoned parcels can be a headache for property owners and practitioners. In general, a split zoned parcel is a piece of land located in two or more zoning districts and divided by a zoning district boundary line. Often...more
A few days ago, the Town Supervisor of the Town of Southampton and the Town Trustee President sent a letter to the State Comptroller and State Park Commissioner requesting an opinion as to whether Town Trustee property, known...more
In 2014, the New York State Legislature enacted a significant amendment to the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) reducing setbacks required to discharge a long bow in the lawful act of hunting from 500 feet to 150 feet...more
Now more than ever, climate resiliency along our coastlines is an important aspect of long range municipal planning. Back in 1981, the New York State Legislature enacted the Waterfront Revitalization of Coastal Areas and...more