Following in the footsteps of the towns of Huntington, Babylon and East Hampton, the Town of Oyster Bay voted on March 7, 2023, to create a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication pursuant to Article 14-BB of the General...more
The Huntington Town Board is currently seeking input from residents, businesses and others for a new plan for the redevelopment of the Melville Employment Center (“MEC”). The new plan will build upon a prior plan that was...more
As part of her 2023 State of State address, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a statewide strategy to address New York’s housing crisis by building 800,000 new homes over the next decade. The plan, dubbed as the “New York...more
After more than half a century, the Village of Sea Cliff is in the process of adopting a new Comprehensive Plan to update the 1970 Village Master Plan. New York State recommends that municipalities update their Comprehensive...more
According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, e-commerce sales ratios nearly tripled globally between 2014 and 2019. In 2020, the COVID pandemic was a catalyst that accelerated this already rising trend by...more
On January 13, 2022, the Brookhaven Town Board voted unanimously to adopt new legislation that creates the Greater Bellport Overlay District. The law aims to foster redevelopment in the hamlet of Bellport and encourages the...more
2/22/2022
/ Affordable Housing ,
Community Development ,
Construction Project ,
Infrastructure ,
Neighborhood Revitalization ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Redevelopment ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Maps
The Suffolk County legislature is currently considering a bill (I.R. 1478-2021) that would provide towns and villages with a greater opportunity to weigh in on certain zoning applications proposed in adjacent municipalities...more
In an effort to stimulate the revitalization of abandoned, vacant or underutilized commercial shopping centers, bowling alleys and health club properties, the Brookhaven Town Board recently voted to adopt a new zoning...more
As a “home rule” state, New York’s zoning and other land use decisions are typically made at the village, town, or city level. However, Section 239-m of the General Municipal Law (GML) requires a referral to, and a...more
The Town of Smithtown is considering the adoption of a local law that would allow residential uses as part of mixed-use developments in the Hauppauge Industrial Park. The proposal follows on the heels of an April 2019 report...more
The history of convenience stores in the United States can be traced back to 1927, when an employee of the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas, realized that people needed a place where they could buy basic necessities...more
In May 2019, National Grid – the utility company that provides natural gas to approximately 1.8 million customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island – announced a moratorium on the processing of applications...more
11/18/2019
/ Applications ,
Demand Response ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Moratorium ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Supply and Demand ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Water Quality
The Appellate Division, Second Department, recently issued a decision that appears to be a departure from prior precedent and is certain to create confusion with respect to when to commence an Article 78 claim challenging a...more
9/30/2019
/ Appeals ,
CPLR ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
Motion for Leave ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Ripeness ,
SEQRA ,
Site Plans ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Hempstead Town Board recently approved a sweeping rezoning of portions of North Lawrence and Inwood that are designed to encourage mixed-use, commercial and transit-oriented developments....more
The Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve Act, Environmental Conservation Law, Article 57 (the “Act”), was adopted in 1993 for the purpose of protecting approximately 102,500 acres of the Long Island Pine Barrens located...more
Following the adoption of a moratorium on development along Port Washington’s waterfront, North Hempstead Town officials have proposed new zoning regulations designed to preserve public access and prevent excess building in...more
On March 28, 2018, the Babylon Town Board adopted a moratorium on any new land use applications that seek to increase a parcel’s wastewater limits established by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (“SCDHS”) by...more
A fierce legal battle is currently being waged between preservationists and the City of New York (“City”) over a parcel of land in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, known as Marx Brothers Playground. The parcel, which is located...more
On April 25, 2017, the Southold Town Board adopted Local Law No. 5 of 2017, which amends the Town’s Zoning Code as it relates to agricultural uses. Specifically, the local law amends and adds certain definitions to the Code...more
Local governments may not rely on zoning rules to prohibit renters in multi-family housing developments.
Many local governments (and residents) prefer property owners living in their communities rather than tenants. This...more
1/26/2017
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Condominiums ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Covenants that Run With the Land ,
Housing Developers ,
Legitimate State Interest ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Single Family Housing ,
Special Use Permit ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws