Town of Southold v. Town of East Hampton
| Decision Date | 21 December 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-CV-3860 (SJF)(WDW).,04-CV-3860 (SJF)(WDW). |
| Citation | 406 F.Supp.2d 227 |
| Parties | The TOWN OF SOUTHOLD, the Town of Shelter Island, and Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. The TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Patricia A. Finnegan, Town of Southold Office of the Town Attorney, Laury L. Dowd, Laury L. Dowd, Esq., Southold, NY, William W. Esseks, Esseks, Hefter & Angel, Riverhead, NY, for Plaintiffs.
Michael B. Gerrard, Arnold & Porter, LLP, New York, NY, Richard C. Cahn, Cahn & Cahn, LLP, Melville, NY, for Defendant.
This action was commenced by the Towns of Southold and Shelter Island (collectively, the "Town Plaintiffs") and Cross Sound Ferry Services, Inc. ("CSF") against the Town of East Hampton ("East Hampton" or "Defendant") seeking a declaration that Local Law No. 40 of 1997 of the Town of East Hampton (the "Ferry Law") is invalid. According to Plaintiffs, the Ferry Law violates the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, and the Equal Protection Clause of the New York State Constitution. Plaintiffs also claim that the Ferry Law constitutes an improper and abusive exercise of East Hampton's police power under the laws and Constitution of New York. Defendant has moved for summary judgment on all counts. Plaintiffs have cross-moved for summary judgment on Counts One, Two and Four. Plaintiffs have further moved to strike Defendant's Rule 56.1 Statement. For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted and Plaintiffs' cross-motions for summary judgment and to strike Defendant's Rule 56.1 statement are denied.
Suffolk County (the "County") is the easternmost county on Long Island, separated from Connecticut on the north by Long Island Sound and bordered on the west by Nassau County.1 Suffolk County consists of 1,000 sq. miles. It is 86 miles long, east to west, and at its widest and most westerly point is 26 miles, north to south. The County divides into two "forks" in the Town of Riverhead. The northern fork, (the "North Fork"), contains, inter alia, the plaintiff Town of Southold. The Town of Southold contains, inter alia, the Villages of Greenport and Orient Point.
The southern fork, (the "South Fork"), contains, inter alia, the defendant Town of East Hampton. East Hampton is, in turn, comprised of the Village of East Hampton, a portion of the Village of Sag Harbor and a number of unincorporated hamlets, including Montauk. East Hampton is 22 miles long and its width, north to south, ranges from ¾ of a mile to 6 miles. The main east to west artery, Montauk Highway, provides one traffic lane in each direction. Plaintiff Town of Shelter Island is an island located between the North and South Forks.
CSF provides vehicular and passenger ferry service between Orient Point on the North Fork and New London, Connecticut. (Cmplt.¶¶ 4, 11, 13). Passengers utilizing the CSF service who wish to proceed south to East Hampton from Orient Point may drive or take a bus or train 6 miles west to Greenport, take a ferry to Plaintiff Town of Shelter Island (15 minutes), drive (5 miles) to the southern end of the Town of Shelter Island and take a ferry to Sag Harbor (5 minutes), which straddles the border between the western end of East Hampton and the eastern end of the Town of Southampton. Shelter Island ferry service is provided by non-parties North Ferry Co. (Greenport — Shelter Island) and South Ferry Inc. (Shelter Island — Sag Harbor). (Cmplt. ¶¶ 17-19, 51; www.northferry.com; www.southferry.com).2
According to its web site, CSF (www.longislandferry. com) also provides daily morning shuttle bus service from its New London ferry terminal to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun gaming casinos and evening shuttle bus service from the casinos to the New London ferry terminal.
Travel between Connecticut and East Hampton can also be effected by vehicular ferry from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Port Jefferson, and driving to East Hampton (65.5 miles) or by rail, plane or bus from New York City. (www.easthampton.com/ other/transportation .html). Between May and October, non-party Viking Ferry company provides non-vehicular ferry service between New London, Connecticut and Montauk. (www.vikingfleet.com).
Beginning in 1966 officials on the eastern end of Long Island recognized burgeoning transportation problems in the region. Myriad studies, reports and conferences confirmed what residents already knew: inadequate roads and an increasing population were creating escalating traffic congestion in the area, particularly in the summer months. (See, e,g., Cahn Aff., Exs. 9-14).
Studies contemplating the growth of the eastern end of Long Island and potential traffic and land use concerns were commissioned by different entities and agencies, including the New York State Department of Transportation, which issued the South Fork Transportation Study in 1986. (Cahn Aff., Ex. 12). Other studies followed, all seeking solutions to the area's transportation and traffic congestion issues. (See, e.g., Twomey Aff. ¶ 2; Cahn Aff., Ex. 14). A 1990 "Ferry Access Study" commissioned by the County cited Shorham-Wading River as the only suitable site for additional ferry service from New England. (Bartha Aff. ¶ 2; Cahn Aff., Ex. 18). All of the studies recognized the increasing population, worsening traffic congestion and the lack of viable vehicular alternatives in light of the dearth of roads in the area which could accommodate, or be made to accommodate, the traffic load. In 1995, East Hampton commissioned the Amagansett Corridor Study. The draft study, published in 1997, recommended restricting both building and land use in East Hampton. (Cahn Aff., Ex. 15).
In August 1995, Catherine Lester, then a Councilwoman of East Hampton, issued a memorandum to the Town Board recommending the commission of a Town transportation plan and a moratorium on all ferry service and terminal applications pending the issuance of the proposed plan and consideration of the plan by the Board.3 (Lester Aff. ¶ 2; Cahn Aff., Ex. 19).
Although CSF voiced its opposition to the proposed moratorium, it was nonetheless adopted on October 24, 1995. (Cahn.Aff., Exs. 22, 24). An engineering consulting firm, L.K. McLean Associates, was commissioned to draft the Comprehensive Plan which had been suggested by Councilwoman Lester in her August 1995 memorandum to the Board. The resulting Plan contained a "Transportation Element" which recommended against institution of additional ferry service. (Di Biaisi Aff. ¶ 8; Cahn Aff., Ex. 17). Public hearings were held, culminating in the adoption of the "Transportation Element" of the Town's Comprehensive Plan on August 21, 1997. (Cahn Aff. ¶ 14, Exs. 16, 17).
Following the issuance of all necessary agency approvals, the Ferry Law was adopted, becoming operative on January 13, 1998. (Cahn Aff., Ex. 40).
The Ferry Law states, inter alia:
A. Special Permit required. No person shall construct, commence to use, or substantially expand a passenger ferry terminal, nor commence any passenger ferry service, without having first obtained a special permit pursuant to Article V hereof which specifically authorizes the proposed use and approves the onshore terminal facility to be employed.
B. Vessel limitations. No ferry which has more than two thousand (2,000) installed horsepower and the capability of travelling [sic] at a speed in excess of twenty (20) knots, nor any vehicle ferry of any description, shall dock at or otherwise make use of any passenger ferry terminal, or be allowed to dock at or make use of such facility, except in case of emergency.
This action was commenced on September 8, 2004.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A fact is material "if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Holtz v. Rockefeller & Co., 258 F.3d 62, 69 (2d Cir.2001). An issue of fact is genuine only if a jury could reasonably find in favor of the nonmoving party based on that fact. Id. The moving party bears the initial burden of establishing the absence of any genuine issue of material fact, after which the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to establish the existence of a factual question that must be resolved at trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The trial court is required to construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and draw all reasonable inferences in its favor. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Cifarelli v. Vill. of Babylon, 93 F.3d 47, 51 (2d Cir.1996).
Plaintiffs have moved to strike Defendant's Rule 56.1 for alleged non-compliance with Local Rule 56.1. It is wellestablished that a District Court has "broad discretion to determine whether to overlook a party's failure to comply with local court rules." Holtz, 258 F.3d at 73. To this end, the District Court is authorized to "conduct an assiduous review of the record" in the absence of a proper Rule 56.1 Statement. Monahan v. New York City Dep't of Corrections, 214 F.3d 275, 292 (2d Cir.2000). I have elected to undertake such a review and do not rely on Defendant's Rule 56.1 Statement. Therefore, Plaintiffs' challenge to Defendant's statement is denied as moot.
East Hampton has challenged each Plaintiff's standing to file the instant lawsuit.
Defendant claims that the Town Plaintiffs lack Article III standing, prudential...
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