News That Matters

Subject:
PV Officials Sued- Chickens Coming Home to Roost
From:
PVillan419@aol.com
Date:
Sun, 2 Nov 2008 22:01:11 EST
To:
planputnam@googlegroups.com

Putnam Valley- During the month of October, two legal documents were filed in the state and federal courthouses in White Plains, both of which reflect the profound disconnect between Putnam Valley’s land use laws and the administration and enforcement of same. Both cases are rooted in the same cause of action, that is, the decision of the Putnam Valley ZBA to allow Raymond Hilyer to use his property as the base of operations for a full service oil tank testing and remediation business as well as a “small home heating oil service company.” The property is located at the main entrance to Lake Peekskill on Morrissey Drive, just a short distance from the Heritage Funeral Home which is owned by the long-suffering plaintiffs/ petitioners, Ron and Agnes Powe..

On October 3, 2008, after nearly three years of dealing with Mr. Hilyer and his cronies in town hall, the Powes filed a civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of NY under File #08CIV 8463, before Judge Conner. The defendants are Town of Putnam Valley, Irv Sevelowitz, Robert Tendy and Raymond Hilyer and the complaint alleges as follows:

“For many years, the Town of Putnam Valley volunteer boards and many policy making officials within the Town, have been operated by a group of “good old boys,” who resent the efforts by some in the community to upgrade its quality of life, especially in the Lake Peekskill area. For the past several years, plaintiffs have engaged in a series of actions– including three lawsuits successfully challenging these boards’ decisions to enforce the zoning laws and master plan… The defendants in this action, part of the “good old boy” network, have now retaliated against these efforts, engaging in a pattern of harassing inspections, false reports of health violations and outright defamation. Using the powers of the Town to carry out their vendetta, they have crossed the line and violated plaintiffs’ rights.”

“After the plaintiffs engaged in constitutionally protected conduct ,the defendant Sevelowitz…. acting under color of state law, retaliated against the plaintiffs for their exercise of protected First Amendment rights…… The Code Enforcement Officer demanded to conduct what he called “annual fire inspections”of the plaintiffs’ home and business, to demand and gain access to the plaintiffs’ property in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In fact, there is no such thing as an “annual fire inspection,” nor has any other person within the Town ever been subject to such an inspection.”

Additionally, Sevelowitz was alleged to have “falsely told the Putnam County Health Department, in or about March 2008, that the plaintiffs were engaged in embalming bodies at the Heritage Funeral Home, a statement that was false and known by him to be false. This statement was designed to induce the Health Department to pursue intrusive inspections of the Heritage Funeral Home, and otherwise make the plaintiffs’ lives difficult, and it did.”

“Sevelowitz had been requested to enforce the Town codes against Hilyer, but even after the Town and Hilyer lost the case, Sevelowitz has refused. In other contexts, Sevelowitz has prosecuted perceived code violations against those who are not his political supporters”.

“… the defendant Tendy….acting under color of state law, retaliated against the plaintiffs for their exercise of protected First Amendment rights…… Tendy demanded that the Code Enforcement Officer file a false report with the Putnam County Department of Health, accusing the plaintiffs of conducting embalming at the premises…… Tendy has been requested to enforce the Town codes against Hilyer, but even after the Town and Hilyer lost the case, Tendy has falsely claimed to be “confused” about it; an experienced lawyer, Tendy in fact has no such confusion- only a motive not to enforce Town Laws.”

Additionally, paragraph 23 contains the following disturbing allegations that really go to the heart of what happens to residents who dare to stand up for what is right and decent: “Moreover, defendants’ actions are part of a pattern of cronyism, selective enforcement of law and unequal prosecution of perceived political enemies, directed at the broader public in Putnam Valley, the plaintiffs in this action being only one group of victims.” [emphasis added]

THE DECISION AND ORDER- Almost as an affirmation of the Powes’ Federal lawsuit, on October 21, 2008, Hon. Robert Dibella, Justice of the Supreme Court, Westchester County, came down with his latest decision in the matter of Powe vs. Zoning Board of the Town of Putnam Valley, Planning Board of the Town of Putnam Valley and Raymond Hilyer, Index Nos. 07-16165 and 07-20776 . This was the third decision in the Powes’ favor in the case which began when they brought an Article 78 proceeding against the ZBA challenging its decision to allow Hilyer to use his property for the illegal tank remediation business described above. The same judge ruled for them in the first, second and third iterations of that case, and basically told the town that no matter what kind of tortured logic they use, or Special Exception Use Permits the ZBA and the PB came up with, Hilyer was not supposed to be operating that particular business on Morrissey Drive. Period. End of story. As the judge said, “The ZBA’s authority to render determinations with respect to special uses does not encompass the power to authorize an unlisted use as a special permit use……. The current ordinance does not recognize a full service oil tank testing and remediation business as a permitted use either as of right or as a special permit use…. The ZBA resolution declaring that Hilyer’s proposed use qualified as a special permit use and ….granting Hilyer a Special Exception Use permit and site plan approval are annulled.”

Where this is going from here is anybody’s guess. Given their apparent disdain for the laws of our town and state generally, I fully expect Tendy & Co. to just keep motoring along. Tendy, Sevelowitz et al have allowed the scofflaw George Hertzel to continue his operations, even though he owes the taxpayers of this town and county over half a million bucks. Ray Hilyer gets to keep operating his business, even though a state Supreme Court judge has ruled that it’s illegal and the Boards erred in giving him permission to open in the first place. If the people of Putnam Valley cannot obtain justice and enforcement of our laws from the courts, where does that leave us? A frightening question to ponder in the last months of the year 2008.

Patty Villanova

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