GRASSROOTS FOR GREENBURGH
E-Mail: grassrootsforgreenburgh@att.net
September 20, 2006
VILLAGES SEEK REARGUMENT IN BERNSTEIN II LAWSUIT
The mayors of Greenburgh's six villages and the villages of Hastings and Elmsford have asked Justice Susan Cacace to reconsider her ruling last month denying their motion to intervene on the Town's behalf in Bernstein II. Bernstein II seeks to end the Town's practice of charging all town parks and recreational facilities that are open town-wide solely to taxpayers in the town's unincorporated areas, and if successful, would shift as much as $10 million in annual spending from the so-called "B" budget (unincorporated area only) to the "A" budget (entire town).
The court had ruled that the villages and the mayors could not intervene because they had no "legally cognizable claim." The court also noted that they had previously been denied leave by the Appellate Division to file an amicus brief on the Taxter appeal, which involved a less stringent standard. The village mayors contend that in refusing to let them intervene, Justice Cacace overlooked the fact that even though they each pay a small portion of town taxes, they would nevertheless be impacted financially by a ruling in Bernstein's favor.
Mr. Bernstein filed papers yesterday opposing the motion for reconsideration on the ground that the legal authority the mayors relied upon had been overruled by New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals. He also suggested that the filing of such a motion is sanctionable under New York law and that, if the motion is not withdrawn, Justice Cacace would be authorized to impose sanctions against the village mayors for having filed it.
A copy of the villages' motion (without exhibits) is posted below, along with a copy of Bernstein's response.
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Order to Show Cause on Reargument.pdf (1.3 MB) Memo in Opposition to Motion to Reargue.pdf (316 KB) Please note: These documents are provided in Adobe PDF format, which requires the free Adobe reader, available at the Adobe web site.
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