OVERVIEW - The Shawangunk Ridge is a cluster of bedrock in upstate New York popular for its scenery and outdoor recreation. The Town of Gardiner’s (“Gardiner”) Shawangunk Ridge Protection District (“SRPD”) protects the...more
Recently in BMG Monroe I, LLC v. Village of Monroe Zoning Board of Appeals, the Second Department reinforced strict compliance with all State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) visual impact findings and mitigation...more
What Happened: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Cumulative Impacts Bill” into law. The law expands existing environmental review procedures under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the state...more
On New Year’s Eve, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s “Cumulative Impacts” bill into law, making New York the second state in the nation to require assessment of “cumulative impacts” affecting certain...more
In the first decision regarding an administrative agency’s authority to deny permit applications based on New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (“CLCPA”), Orange County Supreme Court in Danskammer Energy,...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry: •A Delaware trial court has ruled that plaintiffs suing a title insurer for breach of a title insurance policy...more
The Town Board of the Town of Southampton adopted the Hampton Bays Downtown Overlay District (“Overlay District”) Form Based Code by Town Board resolution 2020-288 on February 25, 2020 with the support of a Supplemental...more
On Thursday, July 8, 2021, New York’s Appellate Division (Third Department) overturned the Supreme Court (Albany) in a highly contested case challenging a Site Plan approval issued by the Planning Board of the Town of...more
Last year, the New York County Supreme Court heard an Article 78 challenge by Preserve Our Brooklyn Neighborhoods (“POBN”), a civic organization dedicated to maintaining the unique character and historical significance of the...more
The controversy in Matter of McGraw v Town Board of Town of Villenova (4th Dept Docket No CA 19-01362, Aug. 20, 2020) arose from the environmental review conducted on a proposed wind farm in upstate New York. The developer of...more
This summer has brought two appellate court decisions that should help alleviate growing concern in the development community that the New York courts are overly receptive to community-based challenges to new development in...more
Petitioner, Claude Simon (“Petitioner”), owns approximately 2.25 acres of property in the Village of Upper Nyack (the “Village”), which he sought to subdivide into two separate lots. The first lot would contain the existing...more
In Cady v Town of Germantown Planning Bd., 2020 NY Slip Op 03440 [3d Dept 2020], the Appellate Division, Third Department, reversed the Columbia County Supreme Court’s judgment annulling site plan approval, and dismissed the...more
Two recent rulings from the Second Department of the New York Appellate Division upheld local land-use decisions under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the State Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL)....more
How and when to challenge multiple municipal actions regarding a single project often perplexes Article 78 litigants. Varying statutes of limitations may apply to actions taken at various stages for one project, and the...more
A recent Second Department decision, Matter of Village of Kiryas Joel v County of Orange, et al., addresses the intriguing justiciability doctrine of ripeness, as applied to judicial review of municipal administrative action....more
In SEQRA litigation, there is an oft-quoted proposition that the Lead Agency may not abdicate or defer its responsibilities under SEQRA to another agency. See Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Planning Bd. of Town of Se., 9 N.Y.3d 219,...more
Several prior blog posts discussed standing requirements under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the timeliness of challenging a SEQRA determination. A decision from the Appellate Division, Third...more
The Appellate Division recently issued a decision that explained why a massage therapist and the American Massage Therapy Association, (AMTA), a professional organization of massage therapists, lacked standing to challenge a...more
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
The Ludovico Sculpture Trail (Trail) is located near the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, NY. it’s website can be found at cnyhiking.com/LudovicoTrail.htm. The Trail recently became a centerpiece of a...more
In Schmidt v. City of Buffalo Planning Bd., 174 A.D.3d 1413 (4th Dept., July 31, 2019), the petitioner, Terrence Robinson, filed suit to prevent the demolition of an architecturally significant apartment complex, claiming...more
A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Warren County, John Carr v. Village of Lake George Village Board, demonstrates how a simple omission on a site plan approval application can upend an approved project, even though...more
While the Town of Halfmoon (“Town”) in Saratoga County, New York, may be far from any given reader, the issues in Micklas v. Town of Halfmoon Planning Board, 170 A.D.3d 1483 (3d Dep’t 2019), are close to the heart: whether a...more
Fairway Manor, a senior rental housing complex for ages 55 and older, located on the border of Blue Point and Bayport, was created in 1991 when the Town Board of the Town of Islip approved a change of zone application on a 70...more