A Federal Court has determined that the City of New York’s licensing provisions for tow truck operators violates the interstate commerce clause of the United States Constitution. In the case of Automobile Club of New York, Inc. v. Dykstra, Judge Owen of the United States District Court for the Southern…
The New York Court of Appeals held that a property owner’s challenge to condemnation of property by the City of New York was untimely when it was not raised within four months of a finding by the City Planning Commission that the condemnation should proceed. In the April 4, 2006…
The Village of Mamaroneck has indicated that it will be appealing the recent decision of the United States District Court, which found that the Village had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) when it denied an application to expand the Westchester Day School (see our March…
It has been a year since amendments to the State Freedom of Information Law required that government agencies in New York provide a specific date by which records shall be provided to the public. Under the amendment to the Public Officers Law, if records cannot be provided within twenty business…
On March 14, 2006 the Appellate Division Second Department rejected the issuance of a Negative Declaration under SEQRA in the case Matter of Avy v. Town of Amenia. In upholding the findings of the State Supreme Court, the Appellate Division found that by approving an amendment to the local zoning…
In applying RLUIPA to the decision by the Village of Mamaroneck Zoning Board of Appeals that denied a special permit to the Westchester Day School, the District Court responded to criticism contained in an earlier decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which remanded the District Court’s finding of…
The long awaited decision in the case of the Westchester Day School v.The Village of Mamaroneck Zoning Board of Appeals has been issued by Judge Connor of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. In a 160 page decision Judge Connor found that the Zoning Board…
As we noted in our November 28, 2005 post, the New York State Legislature passed a bill which was signed into law by the Governor requiring that, beginning February 26, 2006, municipalities must post all Environmental Impact Statements, required under SEQRA, on the world wide web. The address of all…
A sharply divided New York Court of Appeals upheld the position of New York City Mayor Bloomberg who refused to enforce the City’s Equal Benefits Law. On February 14, 2006, in the case the Matter of Council of the City of New York v. Bloomberg (http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2006/2006_01111.htm) the Court held that…
Effective as of July 1, 2006 the New York State General Municipal Law requires that notice be provided to adjacent municipalities in the case of many applications for special permits, use variances, subdivisions and site plans. The new section 239nn of the General Municipal Law is based upon a provision…