July 7th, 2004

The Longwood Alliance has been forced to go to court due to a premature issuance of a building permit by the Town of Brookhaven to Coram Equities LLC. The Town's granting of a building permit has allowed the applicant to clear 9 acres of environmentally sensitive property, prior to the court issuing its decision on the propriety of a Planning Board decision.

The Longwood Alliance, and local community residents were forced to file an Article 78 in May of last year under SEQRA. The Alliance's suit stressed that the Planning Board failed to take the required ³hard look² at the project, and that the issuance of the negative declaration and the site plan was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and violative of Article 8 of the NY Environmental Conservation Law. Both the Town and developer Coram Equities attempted to use their financial and legal muscle to convince the court not to decide the Article 78 on its merits. The Court disagreed and declined to dismiss the case.

On Thursday of last week the Longwood Alliance was forced to go back to court to stop the decimation of the Coram Property. Coram Equities LLC apparently began clearing the site during the week of June 14th. The clearing was concealed behind a buffer of trees left by the developer. "At every turn the town and this developer has flauted environmental law.² stated Connie Kepert, President of the Longwood Alliance. ³The premature clearing of this property and the Town's continued disregard for environmental law, is simply the latest slap in the face for the communities of Coram, Gordon Heights and all of central Brookhaven²

³We will not sit by idly while the Town allows developers to use and abuse the working class communities of central Brookhaven.² stated Chris O¹Connor a board member of the Alliance.

The bulldozers have been stopped until the court can finally decide this issue on its merits.