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In City of New York v Ball, 2024 NY Slip Op 24179 [Sup Ct, Albany County 2024], the Albany County Supreme Court upheld a determination of the Commissioner (“Commissioner”) of the Department of Agriculture and Markets (“Department”) that concluded the City of New York’s (“City”) local law banning food establishments from selling or serving foie gras and other force-fed products (“Foie Gras Ban”) unreasonably restricted and regulated farming operations in “upstate” New York.

This case concerned preemption and a conflict between State and local policies. The Court addressed the Commissioner’s/Department’s State agency power to effectively overrule local elected officials and the will of their electorate. At issue was whether an indirect, extraterritorial restriction or regulation falls within the purview of the farming protection framework, given that City’s Foie Gras Ban affected farming operations situated in Sullivan County – approximately 70 miles north.Continue Reading Foie Gras Faux Pas: City Runs A-fowl of State Farming Protections

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Filios Sazeides, Unsplash

The initial phase of New York City Local Law 18, also known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law, went into effect in New York City on Tuesday, September 5th, 2023.  Enforcement of Local Law 18 is expected to significantly reduce the number of illegal, short-term rental listings – i.e. listings for less than thirty (30) consecutive days – available in New York City, especially on major online booking platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. 

Under the New York City Multiple Dwelling Law, it is illegal to rent out your apartment and/or home for less than 30 consecutive days, except in very limited circumstances.  For a short-term rental to be legal under the Multiple Dwelling Law, (i) no more than two (2) paying guests may be hosted at a single time, (ii) the host must maintain primary occupancy and reside in the dwelling unit during the stay, and (iii) the paying guests must have access to all parts of the listing, what is referred to as a “common household.” Continue Reading Goodbye to Airbnb in NYC?

Last year, the New York County Supreme Court heard an Article 78 challenge by Preserve Our Brooklyn Neighborhoods (“POBN”), a civic organization dedicated to maintaining the unique character and historical significance of the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn, New York.  This lawsuit, which I discussed in a previous post, turned on whether a…

A recent Second Department decision, Matter of Village of Kiryas Joel v County of Orange, et al., addresses the intriguing justiciability doctrine of ripeness, as applied to judicial review of municipal administrative action.

In 2007, Orange County (the “County”) acquired property known as Camp LaGuardia from the New York City Economic Development Corporation.  Originally,…

Historic Brownstone Houses in Residential Neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn

A recent Supreme Court decision, In the Matter of Preserve Our Brooklyn Neighborhoods v. City of New York, demonstrates the difficulty a litigant faces when challenging a zoning determination on constitutional grounds.  The petitioners are “an incorporated association of community members” from the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn (the “Petitioners”), who oppose proposed development…

In Rimler v. City of New York, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 03599 (2d Dept, May 8, 2019), which involved a challenge to the issuance of a negative declaration, the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County, granting respondents’ motion to dismiss the petition and denying the petitioners’…

In The Committee for Environmentally Sound Development v. Amsterdam Avenue Development Associates, LLC, 2019 WL 1206357, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 30621(U), Index No. 153819 (Sup. Ct. New York Co., March 14, 2019), the Supreme Court, New York County, granted a petition to annul a resolution upholding the issuance of a building permit (“…

In Real Estate Bd. of New York, Inc. v. City of New York, Petitioner-Plaintiff Real Estate Board of New York, Inc. (“REBNY”) commenced a hybrid article 78 proceeding and plenary action against the City of New York (“City”) challenging the City’s adoption of Local Law No. 50 of 2015 (“…