Bernstein v. Vill. of Wesley Hills

• Decision Date: 27 March 2015
• Docket Number: Case Nos. 08–CV–156 KMK,12–CV–8856 KMK.
• Citation: 95 F.Supp.3d 547
• Parties: Rabbi James BERNSTEIN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The VILLAGE OF WESLEY HILLS, et al., Defendants. The Village of Chestnut Ridge, et al., Plaintiffs/Counterclaim Defendants, v. Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, Inc., Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

95 F.Supp.3d 547

Rabbi James BERNSTEIN, et al., Plaintiffs

v.The VILLAGE OF WESLEY HILLS, et al., Defendants.

The Village of Chestnut Ridge, et al., Plaintiffs/Counterclaim Defendants

v.Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, Inc., Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiff.

Case Nos. 08–CV–156 KMK

12–CV–8856 KMK.

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed March 27, 2015.

Joseph J. Haspel, Esq., Joseph J. Haspel, PLLC, Goshen, NY, for Plaintiffs/Counterclaim Plaintiff.

Philip J. Murphy, Esq., Philip J. Murphy, PLLC, New York, NY, for Counterclaim Plaintiff.

Gregory R. Saracino, Esq., Milber Makris Plousadis & Seiden, LLP, White Plains, NY, for Village of Pomona in Case No. 08–CV–156.

Michael D. Zarin, Esq., Jody T. Cross, Esq., Zarin & Steinmetz, White Plains, NY, for The Village of Wesley Hills, Robert H. Frankel, David A. Goldsmith, Robert I. Rhodes, Jay B. Rosenstein, The Village of Chestnut Ridge, Mayor Jerome Kobre, Trustee Howard L. Cohen, The Village of Montebello, Kathryn Ellsworth, and Mayor of Montebello Jeffrey Oppenheim,

OPINION AND ORDER

KENNETH M. KARAS, District Judge:

Plaintiffs are religious corporations and individuals affiliated with the Chofetz Chaim sect of Orthodox Judaism, and they allege an interest in the operation of Kiryas Radin, a religious educational institution and center for religious activity and prayer, located on 4.7 acres of unincorporated land in the Town of Ramapo (“Ramapo”) known as the Nike Site. Defendants are four Villages, each located within Ramapo, and current and former officials of those Villages. Plaintiffs bring claims under federal and state law relating to a 2004 lawsuit filed by Defendants against Ramapo pertaining to the Nike Site.

Before the Court are three Motions for Summary Judgment arising in a consolidated Action. The pending Motions pertain to surviving claims in Case No. 08–CV–156 (the “2008 Action”) and counterclaims in Case No. 12–CV–8856 (the “Chestnut Ridge Action”). Plaintiffs Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, Inc. (“Mosdos”), Rabbi James Bernstein (“Bernstein”), Moshe Ambers (“Ambers”), Rabbi Mayer Zaks (“M. Zaks”), and Rabbi Aryeh Zaks (“A. Zaks”) (without Mosdos, the “Individual Plaintiffs”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. No. 108). Defendants David A. Goldsmith (former Trustee and current Mayor, Village of Wesley Hills (“Wesley Hills”)) (“Goldsmith”), Edward B. McPherson (Trustee and Deputy Mayor, Wesley Hills) (“McPherson”), Robert H. Frankl (former Mayor, Village of Wesley Hills) (“Frankl”), Robert I. Rhodes (former Trustee, Wesley Hills) (“Rhodes”), Jay B. Rosenstein (former Trustee, Wesley Hills) (“Rosenstein”), Howard L. Cohen (Trustee, Village of Chestnut Ridge (“Chestnut Ridge”)) (“Cohen”), Jerome Kobre (former Mayor, Chestnut Ridge) (“Kobre”), Jeffrey Oppenheim (former Trustee and current Mayor, Village of Montebello (“Montebello”)) (“Oppenheim”), Kathryn Ellsworth (former Mayor, Montebello) (“Ellsworth”) (together, the “Individual Defendants”), Wesley Hills, Chestnut Ridge, Montebello (together with the Individual Defendants, “non-Pomona Defendants”), and the Village of Pomona (“Pomona”) (together with Chestnut Ridge, Montebello, and Wesley Hills, the “Villages”) (collectively, “Defendants”), filed two Motions for Summary Judgment. Pomona joined the first Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the non-Pomona Defendants, (Dkt. No. 101), and also filed its own Motion, (Dkt. No. 106).¹

For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment are granted, and Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied.

I. Background

The heart of Plaintiffs' case is their allegation that Defendants colluded to file the Chestnut Ridge Action—which claimed, in relevant part, that Ramapo's environmental review of Kiryas Radin prior to its approval was insufficient under state law—for discriminatory reasons. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants, “[h]iding behind a false façade as protectors of the environment ... utilized municipal government authority to advance their campaign against the spread of Orthodox Jewery in the Town of Ramapo.” (Pls.' Mem. of Law in Supp. of Mosdos Claimants Mot. for Summ. J. (“Pls.' Mem.”) 3 (Dkt. No. 110).)²

In the 2008 Action, Plaintiffs alleged claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1985(3) for violations of, and conspiracy to violate, their rights under the Free Exercise, Establishment, and Free Association clauses of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as claims under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. § 3604 et seq., Article I, Section 3 (Free Exercise) and Article I, Section 11 (Equal Protection) of the New York State Constitution, and § 40–c of the New York Civil Rights Law. (See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 114–154 (Dkt. No. 45).) At this stage of the litigation, the only claims remaining from the 2008 Action are the Individual Plaintiffs' §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985(3) and New York Civil Rights Law claims against the Villages and the Individual Defendants sued in their official capacities, and the Individual Plaintiffs' New York State Constitution claims against the same Parties, except for Pomona. See Mosdos Chofetz Chaim, Inc. v. Village of Wesley Hills, 815 F.Supp.2d 679, 711 (S.D.N.Y. Sept.26, 2011) (“Mosdos II ”).

In the Chestnut Ridge Action, Mosdos filed counterclaims against the Villages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Free Exercise and Free Speech clauses of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq., and the FHA. (No. 12–CV–8856, Notice of Removal Ex. B (“Counterclaims”) ¶¶ 368–94 (Dkt. No. 1).) The remaining claims in the 2008 Action, together with the counterclaims in the Chestnut Ridge Action, are the subject of the Motions before the Court. (See Defs.' Joint Rule 56.1 Statement (“Defs.' 56.1”) ¶¶ 17, 98 (Dkt. No. 102) (noting consolidation and that only the counterclaims survive in the Chestnut Ridge Action).)

In support of their claims, Plaintiffs make allegations against the Individual Defendants, claiming that they acted with a discriminatory purpose. Despite structuring their claims as against all Defendants, however, Plaintiffs make no individual allegations against Cohen, Kobre, Oppenheim, or Ellsworth. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 157–59.) Counsel for Plaintiffs confirmed the lack of allegations at oral argument, and agreed to the dismissal of Plaintiffs' allegations against these Defendants for that reason. While Plaintiffs also only make one allegation against each of McPherson, Frankl, and Rosenstein, namely an “ ‘effort to restrict the Orthodox/Hasidic Jewish population in ... Ramapo and its environs,’ ” (id. ¶¶ 158–59 (quoting Am. Compl. ¶ 100)), their primary allegations are against Rhodes. According to Plaintiffs, Rhodes “ ‘advocated fertility testing and complained about the birth rate of the Orthodox Hasidic community within ... Ramapo’ ” in a blog post he authored as chairman of an organization called “Preserve Ramapo.” (Id. ¶¶ 164–65, 173 (quoting Am. Compl. ¶ 92).)³ Plaintiffs contend that that Wesley Hills and Rhodes are active in, and helped found, Preserve Ramapo, which Plaintiffs allege was “ ‘formed to create separation and feigned plausible deniability between the elected officials advocating against the ultra-orthodox/Hasidic communities and the municipal government.’ ” (Id. ¶¶ 170–71 (quoting Am. Compl. ¶ 94).)⁴

By Plaintiffs' own admission, their claims at this stage of the litigation are dependent on their allegation that Defendants did not bring legal challenges against development projects that were, other than not being run by members of the Hasidic community, similar to Kiryas Radin in all material respects. (See, e.g., Pls.' Mem. 5 (“[T]o successfully establish that [Defendants] violated [Plaintiffs'] civil rights, it is incumbent upon the [Plaintiffs] to show that [Defendants] selectively treated [Plaintiffs] in instituting their failed legal proceedings regarding Kiryas Radin....”).) It is by proving these allegations that Plaintiffs intend to show that they have been selectively treated.

A. Factual Background

Over the last several decades, Orthodox and Hasidic Jews have resided in Ramapo in increasing numbers. Beginning in the late 1960s, several Villages in Ramapo incorporated with the stated purpose of preserving existing zoning in their communities. (See Pls.' Rule 56.1 Statement (“Pls.' 56.1”) ¶ 7 (Dkt. No. 113); Defs.' Joint Response to Pls.' Rule 56.1 Statement (“Defs.' Counter 56.1”) ¶ 7 (Dkt. No. 117).)⁵ In 1997, Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim of Radin (“YCC”) purchased the Nike Site and “applied for site plan approval to use the Nike Site as a religious school and community center, with dormitories consisting of 44 units in the 12 preexisting residential buildings” on the site. In re Village of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo, 99 A.D.3d 918, 953 N.Y.S.2d 75, 79 (2012) (“Chestnut Ridge II ”). On July 3, 2003, the County of Rockland Department of Planning issued a disapproval of the YCC proposal, “citing concerns relating to traffic and community character.” Id.

In 2000, Christopher St. Lawrence was elected Town Supervisor of Ramapo, and preparations for an update of the Ramapo's Comprehensive Master Plan (“Comprehensive Plan”) were initiated. (Pls.' 56.1 ¶¶ 9–10; see also Defs.' Counter 56.1 ¶¶ 9–10.)⁶ Following the completion of an environmental review, Ramapo adopted a new Comprehensive Plan on or about January 29, 2004, which included a provision for student housing. (See Pls.' 56.1 ¶¶ 13–14; Defs.' Counter 56.1 ¶¶ 13–14.) Ramapo subsequently considered a zoning amendment, the Adult Student Housing Law (“ASHL”), designed to permit adult student housing, by permit, in all residential zones as an accessory to approved postsecondary institutions. Chestnut Ridge II, 953 N.Y.S.2d at 79. (See also Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 43 (describing the ASHL as permitting “high density...