Vill. of S. Blooming Grove v. Vill. of Kiryas Joel Bd. of Trs.
| Decision Date | 05 November 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 7410/2015.,7410/2015. |
| Citation | 28 N.Y.S.3d 651 (Table) |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Application of VILLAGE OF SOUTH BLOOMING GROVE, Town of Blooming Grove, Village of Monroe, Village of Woodbury, Town of Woodbury, Village of Harriman, Village of Cornwall–on–Hudson, Town of Cornwall, County of Orange (On Behalf of Itself and Orange County Sewer District No. 1), Town of Chester, Monroe Joint Fire District, and the Black Rock Fish and Game Club of Cornwall, Petitioners, For a Judgment pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules v. VILLAGE OF KIRYAS JOEL BOARD OF TRUSTEES, Village of Kiryas Joel, Town of Monroe Town Board, and Town of Monroe, Respondents, and Emanuel Leonorovitz, Basya Sabov, Mendel Breuer, Ella Breuer, Congregation Beth Aryeh, Esther Stessel, 257 Mountainview Trust, David Goldberger, Tziposa Goldberger, 483 105 Corp., 481 Coun. Corp., Port Orange Holdings, Isidor Landau, Provider–Hamaspic OC, Joel Brach, Henry Weinstock, Beth Freund, Joseph Stulovitch 1 LLC, Lillian And Pincus J. Strulovitch, Herbst Family Holdings LLC, Hashgucha Prutius LLC, Be & Yo Realty, Inc., Benny Wercberger, Rachel Wercberger, Israel Weber, Sigmond Brach, Forest Edge Development LLC, Brucha Properties Ltd., Naftaliausch, Kent Neighborhood LLC, Rafoel A. Krausz, Eliyahu Polatseck, Rosa Polatseck, Wolf Wercberger, Moishe Oppenheim, Zalmen Stern, Rivka Oppenheim, Lipa Oppenhiem, Yehuda Berger, Seven Springs Corp., Mendel Oppenheim, Raizel EVA Freund, Isaac Glanzer, Judy Glanzer, Moses Goldberger, Simon Gelb, Samuel Kahan, 7 Springs Villas LLC, Chaim Landau, Josef Freidman, Frida Freidman, Silah Rosenberg Fam LLC, Deborah Rosenberg, Abraham Rosenberg, Isaac Rosenberg, Forest Road Capital, LLC, Commandeer Realty Associates, Inc., Amazon/Burdock Realty Associates Inc., Amazon Realty Associates Inc., Atkins Brothers Inc., Der Blatt Inc., Bais Yisroel Congregation, Bersh Stern, Alex Neustadt, Chaim Friedman, Goldy Friedman, Seven Springs Realty Inc., Sara Gelb, Erno Bodek, Rachel Bodek, Arthur Meisels, Am Seven Springs LLC, Jacobs Hickory LLC, 282 Mountainview Drive, LLC, Joel Reisman, Paula Reisman, Vista Pearl LLC, Konitz Estates, LLC, Jacob Wieder, Chaya Weider, Marsha Wagschal, Congregation Lanzut of Orange County, Eliazer Glanzer, Esther Glanzer, 72 Seven Springs RD LLC, 131 Acres RD LLC, Bakertown Holding, LLC, Harry Arnstein, Esther Arnstein, Shraga Greebaum, Rely Greebaum, Jacob Schwartz, Rene Schwartz, Yehosua Weiner, Devorah Weiner, Alfred Weingarten, Solomon Ellenbogen, Hana Perlstein, Simon Katz, Raizy Ellenbogen, Building 54 LLC, Mordechai Goldberger, Mountainview N.Y. Estates, Inc., Israel Werzberger, Yittele Werzberger, NDS Propertymanagement Inc., Jossi Leib Werzberger, Benjamin Green, Chaya Green, Chaim Parnes, Miriam Parnes, Tobias Schreiber, Feige Schreiber, Upscale 4 Homes Corp., Aes 11–07 Trust, Bakertown Realty Equities, Jacob Bandua Trust, Martin Terkeltaub, Zigmund Klein, Orange N.Y. Homes Inc., and Vintage Apartments LLC, Additional Respondents. Preserve Hudson Valley, John Allegro, Emily Convers, and Louis M. Cerqua, Petitioners/plaintiffs, v. Town Board of the Town of Monroe, Town of Monroe Supervisor Harley Doles, Village Board of the Village of Kiryas Joel, Acting Commissioner Marc Gerstman As Successor to Joseph Martens of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Emanuel Leonorovitz, Basya Saboy, Mende Breuer, Ella Breuer, Cong Beth Aryeh, Esther Stessel, 257 Mountainview Trust/Erwin Landau, David Goldberger, Tzipora Goldberger, 483 105 Corp., 481 Coun. Corp., Port Orange Holdings, Isidor Landau, Provider–Hamaspic OC, Joel Brach, Henry Weinstock, Beth Freund, Joseph Strulovitch 1, Herbst Family Holdings LLC, Hashgucha Prutius LLC, BE & Yo Realty, Inc., Benny Wercberger, Rachael Wercberger, Israel Weber, Sigmond Brach, Forest Edge Development, LLC, Brucha Properties Ltd, Forest Road, Naftali Ausch, Kent Neighborhood, LLC, Rafoel A. Krausz, Eliyahu Polateseck, Rosa Polatseck, Moishe Oppenheim, Wolf Wercberger, Zalmen Stern, Rivka Oppenheim, Lipa Oppenheim, Yehuda Berger, Seven Springs Corp., Mendel Oppenheim, Raizel Eva Freund, Isaac Glanzer, Judy Glanzer, Moses Goldberger, Simon Gelb, Samuel Kahan, 7 Springs Villas LLC, Chaim Landau, Josef Friedman, Frida Freidman, Silah Rosenberg Fam, LLC, Deborah Rosenberg, Abraham Rosenberg, Isaac Rosenberg, Forest Road Capital, LLC, Commandeer Realty Assoc. Inc., Amazon/Burdock Rlty Assoc Inc., Atkins Bros Inc., Der Blatt, Inc., Bais Yissroel Cong, Bersh Stern, Alex Neustadt, Chaim Friedman, Goldy Friedman, Seven Springs Rlty Inc., Sara Gelb, Erno Bodek, Rachel Bodek, Arthur Meisels, AM Seven Springs LLC, Jacobs Hickory LLC, 282 Mountainview Drive, LLC, Joel Reisman, Paula Resiman, Vista Pearl LLC, Konitz Estates, Jacob Wieder, Chaya Weider, Marsha Wagschal, Cong Lanzut of O C, Eliazer Glanzer, Esther Glanzer, 72 Seven Springs RD LLC, 131 Acres RD LLC, Bakertown Estates LLC, 12 Bakertown Holding, Harry Arnstein, Esther Arnstein, Shraga Greebaum, Rely Greebaum, Jacob Schwartz, Renee Schwartz, Yehosua Weiner, Devorah Weiner, Alfred Wengarten, Soloman Ellenbogen, Hana Perlstein, Simon Katz, Raizy Ellenbogen, Building 54 LLC, Mordechai Goldberger, Mountainview N.Y. Estates, Inc., Israel Werzberger, Yittele Werzberger, Jossi Leig Werzberger, NDS Property Management Inc., Benjamin Green, Chaya Green, Chaim Parnes, Mirian Parnes, Tobias Schreiber, Feige Schreiber, Martin Terkeltaub, Zigmund Klein, Orange N.Y. Homes, Inc., Vintage Apartments LLC, Upscale 4 Homes Corp., Joseph Strulovitch 1, LLC, Aes 11–07 Trust, Bakerstown Realty Equities, And Jacob Bandua Trust, Respondents/defendants. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court |
Bryan Cave LLP, New York, NY, for the petitioners in Proceeding No. 1.
Zarin & Steinmetz, White Plains, NY, for the petitioners/plaintiffs in Proceeding No. 2.
Dickover, Donnelly & Donovan, LLP, Goshen, NY, for the Town Board of the Town of Monroe and the Town of Monroe.
Keane & Beane, LLP, White Plains, NY, Co-counsel for the Town Board of the Town of Monroe and the Town of Monroe.
Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany, NY, for the Board of Trustees of the Village of Kiryas Joel and the Village of Kiryas Joel.
Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C., New York, NY, for the respondent signatories to the annexation petitions.
Office of the New York State Attorney GeneralEnvironmental Protection Bureau Albany, NY, for the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The following papers were considered in connection with the petitioners' separate motions for preliminary injunctive relief:
Amended notice of petition (Proceeding No. 1), petition with exhibits, affirmation with exhibits 1–3
Order to show cause (Proceeding No. 1), affirmation with exhibits, emergency affirmation with exhibits, affidavit with exhibits, memo of law 4–7
Notice of petition (Proceeding No. 2), petition with exhibits 8–9
Order to show cause (Proceeding No. 2), affirmation with exhibits, memo of law 10–12
Attorney General letter dated November 4, 1201513
Kiryas Joel memo of law in opposition, affirmation with exhibits 14–15
Monroe affirmation in opposition with exhibit, affidavits, memo of law 16–19
Respondent signatories to the annexation petitions' affirmation in opposition with exhibits, affidavit 20–21
The petitioners in Proceeding No. 1, the Village of South Blooming Grove, Town of Blooming Grove, Village of Monroe, Village of Woodbury, Town of Woodbury, Village of Harriman, Village of Cornwall–on–Hudson, Town of Cornwall, County of Orange (on behalf of itself! and Orange County Sewer District No. 1), Town of Chester,! Monroe Joint Fire District, and the Black Rock Fish and Game Club of Cornwall (hereinafter collectively the municipal petitioners), and the petitioners/plaintiffs in Proceeding No. 2, Preserve Hudson Valley, John Allegro, Emily Convers, and Louis M. Cerqua (hereinafter collectively Preserve Hudson Valley) (the petitioners in both proceedings hereinafter collectively referred to as "the petitioners" unless otherwise specified), commenced these proceedings to challenge two proposed petitions for annexation of certain land from the Town of Monroe to the Village of Kiryas Joel. At issue is one petition seeking to annex approximately 507 acres and a latter-filed petition seeking to annex approximately 164 acres, which area can generally be described as a subset of the 507–acre annexation proposal. Pursuant to the State Environmental
Quality Review Act (SEQRA), a Draft Generic Environment Impact Statement (DGEIS) was issued on May 1, 2015 and a Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (FGEIS) was issued on August 12, 2015, evaluating the potential impacts associated with the proposed annexations. On September 6, 2015, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Kiryas Joel, as lead agency for the proposed annexation projects, adopted a Findings Statement determining that the DGEIS and FGEIS met the requirements of SEQRA and, separately, adopted resolutions pursuant to the Municipal Annexation Law determining that both the 164–acre and 507–acre annexation proposals were in the "over-all public interest." On September 8, 2015, the Town Board of the Town of Monroe, as an involved agency, adopted a Findings Statement determining that the DGEIS and FGEIS met the requirements of SEQRA with respect to the 164–acre annexation proposal, but not with respect to the 507–acre annexation proposal. The Town Board of the Town of Monroe also adopted a resolution determining that the 164–acre annexation was in the "over-all public interest."
Subsequent to the boards' resolutions finding that the 164–acre annexation was in the "over-all public interest," on October 5, 2015, the Town of Monroe scheduled a special election on the annexation for November 9, 2015. Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 713, this special election is to be called by the...
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