New York’s Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) mandates that agencies make all “records” available for public inspection and copying, subject to certain exemptions. See, Public Officers Law. The presumption under FOIL is that the public has a right to access “records” maintained by an any agency, because “the Legislature enacted FOIL to provide the public
Can I Park Here? Second Department Takes the Driver’s Seat in Recent Parking Cases
Last month, the Appellate Division, Second Department, issued two interesting opinions concerning parking. One involved a parking variance and the other involved a restrictive covenant.
Here are the details!
No Parking
Court Supports Expansive View of What Constitutes Religious Use
Note: Law clerk Joanna Lima assisted in drafting this blog post.
Courts have recently expanded what constitutes religious conduct. In particular, in Matter of Sullivan v. Board of Zoning Appeals of City of Albany, 144 A.D. 3d 1480 (3d Dep’t 2016), an appellate court ruled that the use of a portion of a church
How High Is Too High – Measuring the Height of a Structure
Measuring the height of a structure may seem straightforward in the abstract, but sometimes in practice that is not the case. Take, for instance, a recent Southampton Town Zoning Board application – Matter of the Application of Hermann – where the height of a house was the subject of a challenge in front of the
Westhampton Beach Park Fee Upheld
My partner, Anthony Guardino, recently posted a three-part series about land use fees on this blog. This post concerns a decision by the Appellate Division upholding a $776,307 “Park Fee” imposed by the Village of Westhampton Beach in connection with the development of a 6.59 acre tract of land.
Southampton Town Requires Nitrogen Reducing Sanitary Systems (Innovative and Alternative On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems) Starting SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
As outlined in our prior blog by Anthony S. Guardino, posted on March 20, 2017 entitled, “East Hampton Considers New Laws Mandating Nitrogen-Reducing Sanitary Systems and Offering Rebates to Replace Existing Systems”, similar to the Towns of East Hampton and Brookhaven, the Town of Southampton adopted a local law on July 25, 2017 requiring advanced
Comfort Stations May Be Permitted Uses of Public Streets
After Hurricane Sandy devastated Long Beach and its boardwalk in 2012, officials sought to reconstruct the city’s iconic esplanade. As part of the rebuild, the Long Beach City Council determined to award contracts for the construction of comfort stations along the wooden promenade, including a comfort station at Lincoln Boulevard which would be installed as
New York’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Programs (“LWRPs”) And Climate Change
Now more than ever, climate resiliency along our coastlines is an important aspect of long range municipal planning. Back in 1981, the New York State Legislature enacted the Waterfront Revitalization of Coastal Areas and Inland Waterways Act, N.Y. Exec. Law § 910. (the “NYS Coastal and Waterways Act”).
Coastal communities and communities on designated
How to Avoid Getting Your Deed Rejected for Recording, Part 3: 10 Fail-Safe Tips to Insure Success
On July 11, 2016, we authored Part One in an ongoing series discussing the mechanics of how to successfully record a deed in the State of New York, wherein we discussed the various types of ownership interests and how they should be correctly reflected.
On August 22, 2016, we authored Part Two in the series
Are Land Use Fees the Solution to Long Island’s Fiscal Challenges? – Part 3
In this post, which is the third and final segment of a three-part series, we look at real property recording and related fees, which have increased significantly in Nassau and Suffolk Counties in recent years. Like illegal impact fees and excessive administrative review fees, fees related to the recording of legal instruments are being