Lawsuit to Halt Construction in Christopher Morley Park Continues
North Hills, NY 7-13-14 -- Legal papers are scheduled to be exchanged this week and next as an acting State Supreme Court justice tries to fast-track our lawsuit instead of granting a preliminary injunction as we argue the law requires. Acting Supreme Court Justice James "Jim" McCormack was not satisfied that tagged trees and an announced construction schedule indicated enough threat to trees and greenery along the route of the proposed "air-stripper's" football-field-length access-road and half-acre fenced compound to continue the protection put in place by senior Supreme Court Justice F. Dana Winslow. At the hearing July 2nd, attorneys for the Roslyn Water District, Nassau County, and the Town of North Hempstead took advantage of credulous treatment by acting Justice McCormack -- who is running for judge this November -- to fill the record with factual errors (such as the claim the plan is to dig a new well), falsehoods (such as the claim the air-stripper would only operate for a year), smears of the petitioners, and bald lies about the legal record. The judge began the important hearing by asking "What am I doing here?" and it went downhill from there. He indicated no familiarity with papers in the court's possession for a week. Mr. Brummel, speaking for the petitioners, tried to confront the massive quantity of misinformation but admittedly stumbled toward the end. "Looking at the transcript, it appears to me I just stopped listening and tried to focus on my own script, which was immense and detailed. I put out all the information the judge needed, it was all there both in writing and verbally, but I stopped 'sparring' for some reason at the end. I think my hasty lunch rushed to my head, or something," Mr. Brummel said. Brooklyn resident Mark Smith has been designated to lead the effort to organize Park users. Mark is at the Park each weekend and formed the Guardians of Christopher Morley year or so ago to fight privatization of the pool and ice-rink by the Mangano administration. Mark can be reached at (718) 241-9672. Meanwhile, a severe rift in the plaintiff group between activist Richard Brummel, who has spear-headed the Morley effort since it inception, and the Roslyn Estates residents who sought to preserve their walking trails and views, delayed the appeal the petitioners had agreed on and vowed in court on July 2nd. One plaintiff has repeatedly made himself unavailable to meet and iron out disagreements. Support from various environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Green Party, and PARCNassau, has proved similarly episodic and unreliable. Various news outlets have covered the progress of the effort at the urging of Mr. Brummel, supported by a series of press releases and photos, though Newsday has opted out of most coverage of the opposition. "If you wonder why Long Island is such an environmental disaster, you need to look no further than the feckless environmental groups and residents who are supposedly dedicated to working on these issues. Newsday seems like a racket. Cross them and you're out. Even the supposed environmental 'hero' and candidate Adrienne Esposito has failed to reply in any way to requests for aid on this and other issues," Mr. Brummel said. "Long Island is a disaster because Long Island environmentalists are a disaster. Or more accurately, because they ARE long Island, along with the developers and politicians who do the dirty work. If people want a change, they need to get off their asses and do it themselves, but seriously so," he said.
Lawsuit Filed to Prevent Water-Stripper Projectin Nassau County's Christopher Morley Park
6-24-14 -- Three people in Nassau have filed a lawsuit to stop the project based on egregious and multiple violations of the state Environmetnal Quality Review Act (SEQRA) by the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County and the Roslyn Water District. Environmental advocate Richard Brummel and two residents of Roslyn Estates on Monday June 23, 2014 filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court challenging decisions by the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County and the Roslyn Water District that would lead to the construction of a probably fenced-in half-acre air-stripper facility in the middle of the 33-acre recreational forest at Christopher Morley Park. The project would include a 320-foot access road built through the forest, as well as two buildings, one of them thirty-feet tall, and the continuous emissions of Freon-22, a Greehouse Gas and ozone-attacking substance, and five other toxic volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, according to public plans. Despite all the environmental impacts, the agencies failed in numerous instances to comply with the rules set out by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), including the need for a full and complete environmental review. Among other insights in the lawsuit is that a frequently used Boy Scout overnight campground is located only about 150 feet from the proposed air-stripper site, and the plans would involve the destruction of almost 50 massive healthy trees including an Oak over 100 years old and many Tulip-trees that are confined to this area of New York State. A biology professor and botanist with SUNY Farmingdale, Dr. Eric Morgan, surveyed the site and provided an expert analysis of the impacts associated with the proposed work.
Petition Order to Show Cause Memorandum of Law Decision on Preliminary Injunction Roslyn Water District Presentation
