BRIGHTON WINS IMPORTANT COURT RULING
Appellate Court Upholds Town’s Right to Acquire Groos Parcel

MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday May 4, 2005


Friday April 29th was a truly memorable day in the Town of Brighton!

On Friday afternoon, the Town of Brighton celebrated the Grand Opening of the beautiful new Buckland Park located off of Westfall Rd., and later in the evening the Town Council got word that the New York State Appellate Court blocked a ruling that would have prohibited the Town from acquiring the Groos property, which the Town is hoping to acquire and develop as parkland.

The 68-acre Groos property, which is adjacent to the new Buckland Park, was identified for acquisition in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and the 2002 Open Space Acquisition and Development Plan. The acquisition of this critically important component of the Open Space Plan would fulfill the Town’s commitment to realize a shared community vision of a “central park” for Brighton.

“We are thrilled that the court has ruled unanimously in our favor on each and every constitutional issue that it has the authority to address,” says Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel.

“The court has clearly ruled that the Town has acted in good faith and constitutionally and this decision represents an extremely favorable turn in the Town’s campaign to acquire and develop this precious open space for our community,” she added.

The Supreme Court of the State of New York’s Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department reviewed a determination of the Town of Brighton to condemn the Groos Parcel that the plaintiff (Faith Temple Church) had contracted to purchase. In its ruling the court stated that the plaintiff “has failed to sustain its burden of establishing that the determination was without foundation and baseless.”

The court also stated that the petitioner (Faith Temple Church) has not demonstrated “that the manner in which (the Town) proceeded was in bad faith,” and it ruled that records support the Town’s finding that the parcel “is the only remaining parcel in the Town of its size suitable for parkland development.”

Frankel says following the Appellate Court decision, the Town’s lawyers advised the Brighton Town Council that they are cautiously optimistic about several lingering questions that need to be addressed in Federal Court.

“We all see this ruling as a major step in the right direction, and we’re more committed than ever to continue our pursuit of this property as directed by the overwhelming approval given by Brighton residents to the 2002 Open Space Acquisition and Development Plan Referendum,” says Frankel.

Frankel points out that two legal actions brought against the Town have resulted in mounting legal fees. To date, the Town of Brighton has spent over $139,000 to defend the rights of Brighton residents.

“Unfortunately these suits have required a good deal of financial commitment from the Town, but we will continue to use all of our existing resources to defend our right to provide parkland for our residents, their children, and their grandchildren, while land still remains available,” says Frankel.