Woodfield Equi. v. Incorporated Vill. of Patchogue

357 F.Supp.2d 622

WOODFIELD EQUITIES, L.L.C., Crossings Recovery Systems, Inc. d/b/a Crossing Recovery Centers, Crossing Recovery Residents, Inc., Crossings Addiction Management, Inc. and "John Does" and "Jane Does" No. 1 through No. 50, Plaintiff(s), v. The INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF PATCHOGUE, The Board of Trustees of The Village of Patchogue, Paul J. Pontieri, Jr., individually and in his official capacity as Mayor and Member of the Board of Trustees, Joseph E. Perry, individually and in his official capacity as Deputy Mayor and Member of the Board of Trustees, Peter Sarich, individually and in his official capacity as Senior Building Inspector, James M. Nudo, individually and in his official capacity as Building Inspector, Gerard J. Crean, Joseph P. Dean, John A. Krieger, Stephen J. McGiff, and Patricia M. Seal, individually and in their official capacities as Members of the Board of Trustees, and "John Does" and "Jane Does" No. 1 through No. 10, who are Village of Patchogue Employees whose identities are not yet known and who are more particularly described in the complaint, Defendant(s).

No. CV-04-5116.

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

February 24, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Edward Michael Ross, Rosenberg Calica & Birney LLP, Judah Serfaty, Rosenberg Calica & Birney LLP, Garden City, NY, J. Timothy Shea, Jr., Forchelli, Curto, Schwartz, Mineo, Carlino & Cohn, LLP, Melville, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Stanley A. Camhi, Jaspan, Schlesinger & Hoffman, LLP, Garden City, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PLATT, District Judge.

Corporate plaintiffs Woodfield Equities L.L.C., et al., and resident plaintiffs, "John Does" and "Jane Does" Nos. 1-50 (collectively "Plaintiffs"), urge this Court to grant a preliminary injunction pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, enjoining Defendants Village of Patchogue, et al. (hereinafter "Village"), from acquiring Plaintiffs' property at 380 and 390 Bay Avenue, Patchogue, New York, for a public purpose use, through the exercise of eminent domain.

For the following reasons, Plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction is DENIED.

Background

The Court held a preliminary injunction hearing from December 6 through December 15, 2004. Several witnesses testified, including Defendant Paul Pontieri, the Mayor of the Village of Patchogue. Both parties introduced a large quantity of documentary evidence, including a satellite photograph of the Village of Patchogue. Plaintiffs' design was to demonstrate to this Court that the Village's decision to acquire the Plaintiffs' properties by eminent domain amounted to intentional discrimination under the criteria articulated by the Supreme Court in Arlington Heights v. Metro. Housing. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 265-66, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977).

As this Court stated at the outset of this controversy, this Court should abstain from all aspects of this case except the grant or denial of the preliminary injunction. A lengthy hearing was conducted in order to determine whether there was any basis for the assertion that the condemnation proceedings were pre-textual and discriminatory. After the hearing, it was clear to this Court that there was none.

In short, the Plaintiffs are not in compliance with the Village's zoning laws despite having adequate opportunity to do so. The Plaintiffs refused to make any application of any kind to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Buonanotte, the President and CEO of Woodfield Equities, L.L.C., et al., never testified as to the reason for this failure and refusal to do so, despite the fact that he was present each day at the hearing and had an adequate opportunity to do so.

Moreover, New York State has a complete and comprehensive condemnation procedure in which the State courts are given the task of ensuring that condemnation procedures are in accord with State and Federal constitutional law. This Court should not be called upon to, and should not, act as the Village's Board of Zoning Appeals or as a substitute for the Village Board of Trustees.

Although this Court is not convinced the Arlington Heights analysis applies to the present case, for reasons discussed infra, Plaintiffs are correct that a review of whether intentional discrimination was a motivating factor behind the Village's actions "demands a sensitive inquiry into such circumstantial and direct evidence of intent as may be available." Arlington Heights, 429 U.S. at 266, 97 S.Ct. 555. With that charge in mind, what follows is a detailed description of the individuals and properties involved, and a recalling of the events which led to the Plaintiffs' application for a preliminary injunction.

A. The Parties

a. The corporate Plaintiffs are a group of for-profit corporations owned by Mr. Frank Buonanotte. (Buonanotte Decl. ¶ 1) The properties located at 380 and 390 Bay Avenue, Village of Patchogue, New York ("the Premises") comprise the principal place of business for plaintiff Woodfield Equities, L.L.C. ("Woodfield")(Id.) Plaintiff Crossings Recovery Residents, Inc. ("Crossings Residents") leases the Premises from Woodfield. (Tr. 101) Crossings Residents utilizes the Premises as a residence for its clients who are recovering alcohol and drug addicts receiving treatment at its duly licensed, off-site clinic, Crossings Recovery Center, Inc. ("Crossings Center") located in the Town of Brookhaven, New York. (Compl. ¶ 15; Tr. 31-33, 54) Five other outpatient clinics are located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. (Compl.¶ 11) Each clinic is licensed by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to treat alcoholism and other drug dependencies, and all are accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (Id.) Mr. Buonanotte is also the sole owner of Woodfield Manor Associates, L.L.C., located in West Hempstead, New York, and Woodfield Management, L.L.C., located in Brentwood, New York. These companies lease residential housing to clients of Mr. Buonanotte's multiple Crossings Center clinics. (Ex. 2)

The Residents are currently living at the Premises and paying rent in the amount of $450.00 per month to Crossings Residents. (Tr. 120) Clients of Crossings Residents are licensees whose right to occupy a bed space survives as long as they remain clients of Crossings Centers and pay the monthly rent. (Tr. 102) All residents must sign and abide by the rules and regulations contained in the "Crossings Recovery Residence Participant License Agreement." (Ex. 7) During their stay, residents are required to take part in a regimented daily schedule which includes chores, house meetings, and random urine tests. (Tr. 162; Ex. 2)

b. The Village of Patchogue is located in Suffolk County, New York. The Village has approximately 11,500 residents, and occupies a space of about 2.2 square miles. (Tr. 244) Defendant Mr. Paul V. Pontieri, Jr. is the Mayor of the Village. (Tr. 224) The remaining individually named Defendants — Joseph E. Perry, Peter Sarich, James M. Nudo, Gerard J. Crean, Joseph P. Dean, John A. Krieger, Stephen J. McGiff and Patricia M. Seal — are either elected or appointed officials of the Village of Patchogue.

B. The Premises

The backyards of 380 and 390 Bay Avenue are adjacent to the Shore Front Park Complex in the Village of Patchogue. (Tr. 473) The Shore Front Park complex has several baseball fields, basketball courts, and a soccer field. (Tr. 477) The Park also has a band shell for outdoor concerts. (Tr. 497)

The boundaries of the Village zoning map were established in 1953. (Patchogue Code § 93-3) The Premises are located within an area zoned as an A Residence District, consisting of single-family residences. (Ex. 27; Patchogue Code § 93-7(A)(1)) Since the 1970s, the previous owner, Mr. Reid Bielecki, used the large house located at 380 Bay Avenue — historically referred to as the "Halcyon Manor" — as a residence for senior citizens, in contravention of the zoning district requirement. (Buonanotte Decl. ¶ 15; Tr. 265-66; Patchogue Code § 93-16.1(A)(1)(m)) Senior citizen residences are permitted in an RH Business District zone. (Patchogue Code § 93-10.1) The nonconforming use of the Halcyon Manor pre-dates the zoning code of 1953. (Tr. 236) Under Village law, "The lawful use of any building, structure or land existing at the effective date of an ordinance or local law which renders said use nonconforming may be continued although such use does not conform to the provisions of such ordinance or local law...." (Patchogue Code § 93-59)

In addition to the Halcyon Manor, a cottage is located at 380 Bay Avenue, and a single family residence occupies the property at 390 Bay Avenue. (Buonanotte Decl. ¶ 16)

Mr. Buonanotte negotiated to purchase the Premises in the Spring of 2004. (Buonanotte Decl. ¶ 12) On August 27, 2004, Mr. Buonanotte purchased the Premises on behalf of Woodfield, for $1,200,000.00. (Exs.L, M) Mr. Buonanotte planned to house approximately 50 recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in the Halcyon Manor and another four residents in the cottage. (Buonanotte Decl. ¶ 16) In addition, Mr. Buonanotte envisioned housing up to nine residents in the house on the 390 Bay Avenue property. (Ex. 11)

The property at 400 Bay Avenue is adjacent to the Premises and is also the subject of the Village's eminent domain proceedings. The owner has publicly protested the Village's decision to condemn his property; however, he is not a party to this law suit.

C. The Village's Proposed Public Purpose Use: Part One

Soon after his election in April 2004, Mayor Pontieri identified the need to relocate several Village organizations which he believed are currently housed in inadequate facilities. (Tr. 297-99) Mayor Pontieri was initially concerned with the condition of the Village's Four Sisters community center. (Id.) This community center provides recreational activities to the Village's senior citizens, and serves as a meeting place for...