In a detailed analysis of New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) the Appellate Division First Department held that certain communications from a consultant hired by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) were not exempt from release under FOIL as intra-agency communications. Noting that while there is generally such an…
The Appellate Division Second Department held in the case Overton v. Town of Southampton that a town board is authorized to create the position of police commissioner as chief administrative officer of the police department by local law. The court determined that the local law creating the position of police…
The Court of Appeals held, for purposes of allocating costs of New York’s “one-call” system for locating underground pipes, cables wires etc. before excavating, a water district created by Town Law is not a municipality. In Jericho Water District v. One Call Users Council, Inc. the Court held that a…
The New York Court of Appeals ruled this week, in a case involving a contested annexation of land by one municipality from another that an informal petition by the residents of the area to be annexed was inadequate. In Matter of the City of Utica v. Town of Frankfort the…
The Westchester County Planning Department has posted a new Web Page which it hopes will be a planning tool for local communities and assist in regional planning. The site states: “[w]hether you are a planner or a concerned resident, you will find tools on these web pages that assist in…
An action under 42 USC §1983 may not be maintained when the plaintiff had other meaningful remedies. The Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed the lower court’s granting of summary judgment to the defendants in Hughes Village Restaurant, Inc. v. Village of Castleton-On-Hudson. The Court found that the plaintiff could have…
The New York Court of Appeals held that the Freedom of Information Law carries the presumption of access to records. In reversing the holding of the Appellate Division and remitting the matter for a factual determination, the Court held in Matter of Data Tree, LLC v. Romaine that the Suffolk…
In a case of first impression, the New York Court of Appeals ruled today that an open space restriction which appears solely on a subdivision map but is not otherwise recorded in land records is binding upon subsequent purchasers of the property. In O’Mara v. Town of Wappinger the Second…
In a comprehensive review of the capacity and standing of one municipality to sue another over local zoning, the Appellate Division, Second Department, in Matter of Village of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo, held that villages have the capacity to sue a town over a local law enacting a…
The Appellate Division Second Department recently held that the failure to file a timely notice of claim, as required by the General Municipal Law, should not be excused in the case of Narcisse v. Village of Central Islip. The Court noted that General Municipal Law section 50-e requires that within…