Alden lawsuit heads to court
Oral arguments scheduled for today; Coyne says speculation is premature: “We have a lot at stake here”
The Daily Mail
Mar. 6, 2009

CAIRO — Oral arguments in the lawsuit against the proposed Alden Terrace housing and retail project in Cairo will be heard today at 9:30 a.m. at the Greene County Courthouse.

A letter was read at the Town Board meeting Thursday from Andrew Brick of Donald Zee, P.C., lawyer for developer Charles Maggio, Charles Frank and Associates, Inc., and Regan Development Corp. The letter indicated his clients’ withdrawal of a previous Motion to Dismiss.

“Please allow this letter to serve as notice that our clients’ Motion to Dismiss is being formally withdrawn. This withdrawal is due to the fact that it has recently been learned that our clients will likely not be able to secure an extension on their option to purchase the property alleged by Petitioner to require their joinder in this matter. As such, our clients no longer have an interest in continuing to actively participate in this matter,” the letter reads.

“In addition to forwarding this correspondence to the Court, we will also forward by facsimile to attorneys for all parties in advance of tomorrow’s oral arguments,” the letter concludes.

The Motion to Dismiss was filed last November.

After the letter was read Thursday, Councilwoman Janet Schwarzenegger asked Town Supervisor John Coyne how the ongoing sewer upgrade project would be affected should Alden Terrace never materialize.

Coyne said Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea would have to advise the board after the hearing. Attorneys for the plaintiffs could not immediately be reached for comment.

“It’s a little premature for us to say we’re not going to do anything, or we’re going to continue, until we hear officially from the court where this whole thing’s going,” he said.

Coyne said that the only current work on the sewer project includes filter installation and some exterior building work.

“We have a lot at stake here,” he said.

Cairo First, Cairo Plaza LLC, J. Triple S., Inc, E. Slater, Inc., and the Cairo Township Taxpayers Association, argue in the lawsuit that the Cairo Town Board and the Planning Board, state Department of Environmental Conservation, state Environmental Facilities Corp., state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, developer Charles Maggio, Charles Frank & Associates, Regan Development Corp., Benjamin Buel and Richard Buoniconto failed to follow lawful procedures in relation to obtaining funding for sewer system improvements, failed to conduct proper State Environmental Quality Review Act procedures and to hold required public hearings.