Appeals court upholds dismissal of Yorktown land-use challenge

A long-running legal battle involving several Yorktown residents, the town and the owners of Yorktown Garden Supply appears to be nearing an end after an appellate court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a 2019 Yorktown Town Board decision involving the property.

The Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, affirmed a Westchester County Supreme Court ruling that dismissed the lawsuit, which Town Attorney Adam Rodriguez called “meritless.” The appellate court agreed that the residents filed their challenge after the statutory deadline had passed.

Beth-Ann Permuy and other residents sued the Town Board, George and Francine Hirsch and G.A.H. Building Corp. in January 2020, seeking to overturn the board’s September 2019 resolution concerning the Yorktown Garden Supply property.

Westchester County Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit in March 2021, ruling that the residents waited too long to file it. The plaintiffs appealed the decision, keeping the legal dispute active for several more years.

In an Aug. 19 decision, the Appellate Division agreed with the lower court, finding that the lawsuit was filed more than 30 days after the town filed the resolution with the town clerk. Under state law, challenges to this type of land-use decision generally must be filed within 30 days.

The appellate court also rejected the residents’ argument that the Town Board had acted beyond its authority. The court further declined the plaintiffs’ request to have a different Supreme Court justice handle the case.

“We are happy that the appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit,” Rodriguez told Yorktown News, adding that he believes the  “plaintiffs sought to challenge the town’s site plan approval, which was done in full compliance with the law, and a part of a legal settlement reviewed and so-ordered by Supreme Court Judge George Fifidio.”