verified answer (pro 1 7410-2015) 012216

7/25/2019 Verified Answer (Pro 1 7410-2015) 012216

1/23

SUPREME

COURT

OF THE STATE OF NEW

YORK

COUNTY OF

ORANGE

NINTH

JUDICIAL

DISTRICT

ENVIRONMENTAL

CLAIMS

PART

VILLAGEOF SOUTH

BLOOMING

GROVE et al.,

Index No. 7410/2015

etitioners,

ProceedingNo. 1

For

a

Judgment Pursuant

to

Article

78 of the

Civil

Practice

Law

andRules

-

against

VILLAGE

OF KIRYAS

JOEL

BOARD OF

TRUSTEES

et al.,

Hon.

Francesca E Connolly

Respondents,

EMANUEL

LEONOROVITZ

et

al.,

Additional Respondents.

PRESERVE HUDSON VALLEY

et al.,

IndexNo.: 8118/2015

etitioners/Plaintiffs,

ProceedingNo. 2

-

against -

TOWN

BOARD

OF THE TOWN OF MONROE

et al.,

Respondents/Defendants.

VERIFIED

ANSWER

TOAMENDEDVERIFIEDPETITION

OF PETITIONERS

IN

PROCEEDING

NO. 1

Respondents-Defendants

Village

of Kiryas Joel Board of Trustees

and

the Village of

Kiryas

Joel (collectively

the

Village or

Kiryas Joel ), by and through their

attorneys,

Whiteman Osterman

Hanna LLP, respectfully submit

the

foregoing

Verified

Answer

to

the

Amended

Verified Petition filed by

Petitioners

Village of South Blooming

Grove

et al. in

Proceeding No.

1 (the Petition ):


2/23

1 With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

1

of the

Petition,

the

Village

admits that Petitioners

seek

the relief specified therein, but denies that Petitioners are

entitled

thereto.

2.

The

Village admits the

allegations

set

forth

in

Paragraph

2

of

the Petition.

3 Withrespect to the allegations contained in the first

sentence

inParagraph 3

of

the

Petition, the

Village

lacks knowledge or information sufficient to

form a belief

as to

the truth

of

the allegations

set

forth. With respect to allegations in the second sentence inParagraph 3, the

Village refers the

Court to

the documents

referenced

therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners

characterizationthereof.

4. With respect to the allegations

set

forth inParagraph 4

of

the Petition, the

Village

denies that

the

GEIS failed

to take a hard look at

the

potential

environmental

impacts

of

the

annexation, and otherwise refers

the

Court to the

documents

referenced therein

for

determination

oftheir

content, meaning and

effect

and

denies

Petitioners characterization thereof.

5.

With

respect to the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph

5

of the Petition, the Village

refers the Court

to

the documents referenced

therein

for

determinationof

their content,

meaning

and effect and denies Petitioners characterization thereof.

6. With respect to the allegations set forth inParagraph 6 of the Petition, the

Village

refers the

Court to

the documents

referenced therein

for

determination of their

content, meaning

and effect

and denies


With

respect to the allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph

7

of the

Petition,

the

Village

.

refers the Court to the documents

referenced

therein

for

determination

of their content,

meaning

and

effect and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

2


3/23

8.

With

respect to the allegations set forth inParagraph 8 of the Petition, the Village

refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for determinationof their content, meaning

and effect and denies Petitioners

characterization thereof, and with respect

to specific

subparagraphs therein states as follows:

With respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

the first sentence

of

Paragraph 8

.

(a) of

the

Petition, the Village refers the Court to

the documents

referenced therein for determination of their content, meaning and effect

and denies


With

respect to

the

allegations in the second sentence, the Village

states that

such

allegations

set

forth

conclusions

of law for which no responsive

pleading is

required,

but to the extent an answer is

made,

the Village refers

the

Court to

the

statutes and/or regulations referenced

therein

for

determination

of their

content, meaning

and

effect,

and denies

Petitioners characterizations

thereof.

b.

With

respect to

the

allegations

set forth

in the

first sentence of

Paragraph

8

(b) of the

Petition,

the Village refers the Court

to

the

documents

referenced

therein

for

determination of

their

content, meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners characterization thereof. With respect to the

allegations related to

the

dynamics

of

the Satmar

Hasidim population

outside

of

Kiryas

Joel,

the

Village

lacks

knowledge

or

information

sufficient

to

form

a belief as

to

the truth of the allegations,

and

denies

Petitioners characterizationof the

Village's

environmental review.

3


4/23

With

respect

to the

allegations set forth inParagraph

8 (c)

of

the

Petition,.

the Village refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for

determination

of their

content, meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.


set

forthinParagraph 9

of

the Petition, the

Village

refers the

Court to

the documents

referenced

therein for

determination of

their

content,

meaning

and effect and deniesPetitioners

characterization

thereof.

10.

With

respect

to

the allegations

set forth in the first

sentence of

Paragraph 10

of

the

Petition, the

Village

refers

the

Court

to


therein for

determination of

their content, meaning and effect and denies Petitioners characterization thereof. With

respect

to

allegations referring

to the Town of

Monroe

Zoning

Code, the Village states that such

allegations set

forth

conclusions

of law

for

which no responsive pleading is required, but to

the

extent

an answer is made, the

Village refers the Court to

the statutes

and/or regulations

referenced therein

for

determination

of

their content, meaning and effect, and otherwise

lacks

knowledge

or informationsufficient

to form a beliefas to

the truthof

the

allegations set forth.

1 1 . With respect

to the

allegations

in

Paragraph

1

1

of

the Petition, the Village admits

that

it

has proactively planned for

provision of municipal

water

and

sewer

services

for

its

residents,

admits that CGR

and Chazen provided a

report, but otherwise refers the Court to the

documents referenced therein for determination of their content,

meaning

and

effect and denies

Petitioners

characterization thereof.

With

respect

to

the

final

sentence

in

Paragraph

11,

the

Village states that such

allegations set

forth

conclusions

of law

for

which

no responsive pleading

is required, but to the extent

an

answer is made, the Village refers the Court to the

statutes

and/or

4


5/23

regulations referenced therein for determination of

their

content,

meaning

and

effect,

and denies

Petitioners characterizations thereof.

12.

With

respect

to

the

allegations in

Paragraph 12 of the

Petition,

the Village denies

that environmental

review

for the annexationswas flawed, admits that the Village

has

obtained

a

water withdrawal permit fromNYSDEC

for a

groundwater

well in the

Town ofCornwall, and

otherwise lacks knowledge or

information sufficient

to form

a belief

as to the

truth

of

the

allegations

set forth.

With

respect

to the allegations set

forth in Paragraph

13

of

the

Petition, the

3.

Village

refers the

Court to


therein

for

determination

of their content,

meaning and effect

and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

14. With respect to

allegations

set forth in Paragraph 14 of the Petition, the Village

denies

that

it

failed to take

a hard look at

the

potential

environmental

impacts

of the

annexation

petitions, and otherwise states

that

such allegations set

forth conclusions

of

law for which no

responsive pleading is required, but to the extent

an

answer ismade, the Village refers the Court

to the

statutes

and/or

regulations referenced therein

for

determination

of

their content, meaning

and

effect,

and


information

sufficient to

form

a belief as to the

truthof the

allegations set

forth.

With respect to the allegations set forth

in

Paragraph

15

of the Petition,

the5.

Village admits that Petitioners seek the relief

specified

therein, but denies that

Petitioners

are

entitled

thereto.

16. With respect to the allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph 16

of

the Petition, the

Village

admits that

the Village ofSouth Blooming

Grove is

an incorporated Village,

admits

that

South

Blooming

Grove adjoins limited portions

of

the land proposed to be

annexed

in

the 507

5


6/23

Petition,

denies that

South

Blooming Grove adjoins land

proposed to

be annexed

in the

164

Petition, and

otherwise

lacks knowledge or information

sufficient

to form a belief

as

to

the

truth

of

the allegations set

forth.

17. With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

17

of

the

Petition, the

Village admits that the

Town of

Blooming Grove is Town

in Orange

County, admits that the

Town adjoins limited

portions

of the

land proposed to

be annexed

in the

507

Petition,

denies

that

the Town

adjoins

land proposed

to

be annexed

in

the 164 Petition, and otherwise lacks

knowledge or information sufficient to form abeliefas to the truth

of

the allegations

set forth.

With respect

to

the allegations

set

forth in Paragraph 18

of the

Petition, the8.

Village

admits

that the Village of Monroe is an incorporated Village

in

Orange County, and

otherwise lacks

knowledge or information sufficient to

form a belief

as to the

truth

of

the


With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 19

of

the Petition, the9.

Village

admits

that the Village of Woodbury

is a

Village in Orange County,

admits

that the

Village

of

Woodbury adjoins limited portions

of

the land proposed to

be annexed

in

both

the

507

Petition and

164 Petition,

and

otherwise lacks knowledge

or information sufficient

to

form

a

belief as to the truth

of

the allegations set forth.

With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph 20 of the

Petition,

the

0.

Village admits

that

the

Town

ofWoodbury

is a

Town

in

Orange County, admits that the Town

of

Woodbury

adjoins

limited

portions

of

the

land

proposed to

be

annexed

in

both

the 507

Petition

and

164

Petition, and

otherwise

lacks knowledge or information

sufficient

to form

a belief as to

the truth

of

the allegations set

forth.

6


7/23

With respect

to

the allegations

set

forth

in Paragraph 21 of the Petition, the

1.

Village

admits that

the Village

of

Harriman is a Village in Orange County, and otherwise lacks


form

abeliefas to the truth

of

the allegations set

forth.

With respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in Paragraph

22

of

the

Petition,

the2.

Village admits

that

the Village

of

Cornwall-on-Hudson is

a

Village

in

Orange

County, admits

that the

Village

has obtained a water withdrawal permit from the NYSDEC for a well in

Mountainville

and

that

it is

legally

entitled to

connect

to the

New

York City Aqueduct, and



to

form

a

belief as

to

the truth

of the

allegations set

forth.

With

respect to

the

allegations set

forth

in Paragraph 23 of

the

Petition,

the

3.

Village

admits

that the Town ofCornwall

is

a Town in Orange County,

admits

that the Village

has

obtained a waterwithdrawal permit from theNYSDEC for

a

well

inMountainville

and

that

it

is

legally

entitled to connect to

the New York

City Aqueduct, and otherwise

lacks

knowledge or


to

form

a belief as

to

the

truth

of

the allegations

set forth.

With respect to

the

allegations set

forth

in Paragraph 24

of

the

Petition, the4.

Village

admits that

the County

of

Orange

is

a

County

in

New

York State,

admits

that

the

proposed

annexation territories are located

in

Orange

County, denies

that the

Village

seeks to

annex

territories,

and otherwise lacks

knowledge


to

form a belief as

to

the truth

ofthe

allegations set

forth.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set

forth

in

Paragraph 25 of the

Petition,

the

5.

Village

admits

that the Town

of

Chester is a Town in Orange County, and otherwise

lacks

knowledge or information sufficient to formabeliefas to

the

truth of

the


7


8/23

26.

With

respect

to the allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph 26 of

the Petition,

the

Village

admits that

the

Monroe Joint Fire

District exists,

except lacks knowledge or information

sufficient

to form a belief as to the truth

of

the allegations set forth regarding its

status

under

New

York

law

or its organizational history,

admits that the MJFD's service

area presently

includes land

proposed

to be

annexed, admits that the MJFD has in the

past responded

to fires

within

the

Village pursuant to requests for mutual aid, and otherwise lacks knowledge

or

information sufficient to form

a

belief as to the

truth

of

the


With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 27 of the Petition, the

7.

Village lacks


form a belief

as to the

truth

of

the

allegations set forth, except with

respect

to allegations concerning the GEIS, refers the Court to

the

documents

referenced therein for determination

of their content, meaning and

effect

and

denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

28.

The

Village

admits the allegations set

forth

inParagraph

28 of the

Petition.

29. The Village

admits

the

allegations

set forth inParagraph 29

of

the

Petition.

30.

With

respect

to the allegations set forth

in

the first sentence

of

Paragraph 30

of

the

Petition, the

Village

admits

the allegations.

With

respect to the allegations in the

second

and

third

sentences, the Village refers the Court to the

documents

referenced therein for

determination

of their content, meaning and

effect

and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof. With

respect

to the final sentence, the Village admits that the

Town

Board approved the

164

Petition

but not

the 507

Petition.

3 1

The Village

admits

the

allegations set

forth inParagraph

3 1

of the Petition.

8


9/23

With


of

the Petition, the2.

Village

refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and effect and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With

respect to the allegations set forth

in

Paragraph 33 of the Petition,

the

3.

allegations

set

forth

conclusions

of

law for

which no

responsive

pleading

is required, but to the

extent an answer is made, the Village refers the Court

to

the statutes

and/or

regulations


of

their content, meaning and effect,

and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With respect to the allegations set forth

in

Paragraph 34

of

the Petition,

the

4.

Village

admits

that its principal

offices are in

Orange County, and

otherwise states

that

the

allegations set forth conclusions

of

law for

which

no

responsive pleading is required, but to the

extent an answer

is made,

the Village refers the

Court

to the statutes and/or regulations


of their content, meaning and effect, and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

35.

With

respect

to

the

allegations in

Paragraph 35 of

the Petition,

the Village

lacks

knowledge or

information

sufficient to form

a belief

as to the

truth

of the

allegations

set

forth.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph 36 of the

Petition, the

6.

Village refers the Court

to

the documents referenced therein

for


content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies


With


set

forth in

Paragraph

37 of

the

Petition,

the

7.

Village refers

the

Court to


therein for determination of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies


9


10/23

38. The Village

admits

the

allegations

set forth inParagraph 38 of the Petition as they

relate to the

507-acre

annexation.

With

respect

to the allegations set forth

in Paragraph 39 of

the Petition, the

9.

Village refers the Court

to


for

determination of their content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With respect

to

the

allegations set


of the Petition,

the

0.

Village admits that comments were

submitted

on the DGEIS, and otherwise refers the

Court

to

the

documents

referenced therein

for


content,

meaning

and effect

and

denies

Petitioners characterization

thereof.

With respect

to

the allegations set forth in Paragraph 41

of

the Petition, the

1.

Village

admits that the Town

of

Monroe s consultant JMC submitted comments on the DGEIS,

and otherwise refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for

determination

of their

content, meaning

and

effect

and denies Petitioners characterization

thereof.

42.

With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 42 of the Petition,

the

Village

refers

the Court

to

the documents


of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and

denies Petitioners characterization thereof.

43.

With

respect

to the allegations set forth in

Paragraph 43

of

the

Petition, the

Village

admits

that the

Town

of

Monroe s consultant JMC

submitted comments

on the FGEIS,

and otherwise refers the Court to the documents referenced

therein

for determination of their

content, meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners' characterization

thereof.

44. The Village

admits

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph 44

of

the

Petition.

10


11/23

With


of

the

Petition,

the

5.

Village refers

the

Court to the documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and effect and denies Petitioners characterization

thereof.

AS

AND

FOR

ANANSWER

TO

THE

FIRST

CLAIMFOR

RELIEF

46.

With respect

to

the allegations

incorporated by

reference in Paragraph 46

of the

Petition, the Village refers to its responses to

those allegations

set forthabove.

With


of

the

Petition,

the

7.

allegations set

forth

conclusions

of law for which no

responsive

pleading is

required,

but

to the

extent

an

answer is made, the

Village

refers the

Court to

the statutes

and/or

regulations

referenced therein

for

determination of

their content, meaning

and

effect, and

denies

Petitioners


With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 48 of the

Petition,

the8.

allegations

set forth

conclusions

of law

for whichno

responsive pleading

is required,

but to the

extent an answer is

made,

the Village refers the

Court

to the statutes and/or regulations

referenced

therein

for determination of

their

content,

meaning and

effect,

and denies Petitioners


With respect

to the

allegations set forth in Paragraph 49

of

the

Petition,

the

9.

allegations

set forth conclusions of

law

for which no responsive pleading is

required,

but to the

extent an

answer is made, the

Village refers

the

Court to

the

statutes and/or regulations

referenced

therein

for

determination

of

their

content,

meaning

and

effect,

and denies

Petitioners'


50.

With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

50

of the

Petition,

including

subparagraphs (a) through (d), the Village

refers

the Court

to


11


12/23

for

determination of

their content,

meaning

and

effect

and

otherwise

lacks

knowledge

or

information

sufficient

to form

a

beliefas to the

truthof

the allegations set forth.

With

respect to

the

allegations

set forth

in Paragraph 51

of the

Petition,

the

1.

Village

refers

the

Court to

the documents

referenced therein

for


meaning

and

effect

and

otherwise lacks

knowledge

or information

sufficient

to form a belief as

to the

truth

of

the allegations

set

forth.

With respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 52

of

the Petition, the

2.

Village

lacks knowledge


to

form a belief as

to

the truth

of

the

allegations

set

forth.

With respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 53 of the Petition, the

3.

Village

refers

the

Court

to

the

documents

referenced therein for determination of

their

content,

meaning and effect and deniesPetitioners characterizationthereof.

54.

The Village

denies the

allegations

set

forth inParagraph

54 of

the

Petition.

With respect to

the

allegations set

forth

in Paragraph 55 of

the

Petition,

the

5.

Village lacks

knowledge


to

form a belief as

to

the

truth

of

the

allegations

set

forth.

With respect to the allegations

set

forth in Paragraph

56 of

the Petition, the

6.

Village

refers

the

Court to the

documents

referenced therein

for

determinationof

their

content,

meaning and effect and denies Petitioners characterization thereof.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph 57 of

the

Petition,

the

7.

Village

refers

the Court to the documents

referenced

therein

for

determination of

their

content,

meaning and effect and denies Petitioners characterizationthereof.

12


13/23

With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

58

of the

Petition,

the8.

Village refers

the

Court to the documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and

denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

59.

The Village

denies

the allegations

set

forth inParagraph

59 ofthe Petition.

60. With respect to the allegations set forth

in

Paragraph 60

of

the Petition,

including

Footnote 9

thereto, the Village

refers

the

Court to the

documents

referenced therein for

determination of

their

content, meaning

and

effect

and denies


thereof.

With

respect to the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph

61

of

the

Petition,

the1.

Village refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With

respect to the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph 62

of

the Petition, the

2.

Village refers

the

Court to

the

documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning and effect and denies Petitioners characterization thereof.

With respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 63 of the Petition, the

3.

Village

refers

the

Court

to the documents referenced

therein for

determination

of

their content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies


64.

With

respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph 64 of the

Petition,

the

Village

refers the Court to


therein

for


content,

meaning and

effect

and denies


thereof.

65.

With

respect

to

the

allegations set


of

the

Petition, the

Village

refers

the

Court to

the

documents referenced therein for determination

of their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

13


14/23


set

forth in Paragraph

66 of

the Petition, the

6.

Village

refers

the Court

to

the documents referenced therein for determination of their content,

meaning and effect

and denies


67.

With


set

forth

in

Paragraph

67 of the Petition, including

the

subparagraphs

thereto, the Village refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for

determination

of their

content, meaning



thereof.


of

the Petition, the

8.

Village

refers the

Court to


therein

for

determination

of

their

content,

meaning and effect

and denies

Petitioners characterization thereof

and

further states

the


of

law for whichno responsive pleading is required, but to the

extent

an

answer

is

made, the Village refers the

Court

to the

statutes

and/or

regulations


oftheir

content, meaning and effect,

and denies

Petitioners



set

forth in

Paragraph

69 of

the Petition, the9.

Village

refers the Court to

the documents

referenced therein

for

determination

of their

content,

meaning and effect

and denies


70. With

respect

to

the

allegations set forth in

Paragraph 70 of the

Petition,

including

the subparagraphs thereto, the Village refers the

Court

to the documents referenced

therein

for

determination

of

their


effect

and denies


thereof.

With respect

to

the

allegations set

forth in Paragraph

71 of the Petition,

the

1.


of law

for

which

no

responsive pleading

is required,

but to the

14


15/23

extent

an

answer is made, the Village refers the Court to the statutes and/or regulations

referenced therein

for

determination of

their

content,

meaning

and effect,

and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With respect

to

the

allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph 72

of

the

Petition,

the

2.

Village denies

that the environmental review failed to

take a

hard look as

required under

SEQRA

and otherwise refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for determination of their


effect

anddenies

Petitioners


With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph 73 of

the

Petition, the

3.

Village

refers

the

Court to

the

documents

referenced

therein

for

determination

of

their

content,

meaning and effect

and deniesPetitioners characterization thereof.

With respect

to

the allegations set forth in Paragraph 74 of the Petition, the

4.

Village

refers

the

Court to


therein

for

determination of

their

content,

meaning

and

effect and denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With respect

to

the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph

75

of the

Petition,

the5.

Village refers the Court to


therein

for

determination

of their

content,

meaning and effect

and

deniesPetitioners characterization thereof.

With

respect to the allegations set forth in Paragraph

76 of

the Petition,

the

6.

Village refers

the

Court to


therein

for

determination

of

their

content,

meaning and

effect and

denies


thereof.

ASANDFOR

AN

ANSWERTO

THE

SECOND

CLAIM

FOR

RELIEF

77. With respect

to

the

allegations incorporated

by reference in Paragraph 77

of

the

Petition,

the

Village refers to its responses to

those

allegations set

forth above.

15


16/23

With respect

to

the allegations

set

forth in Paragraph

78 of

the Petition, the

8.

allegations set forth

conclusions

of law

for

which

no responsive

pleading is required, but to the

extent an

answer is made,

the Village refers the Court to the

statutes

and/or regulations

referenced therein for determination of their content,

meaning

and

effect, and denies

Petitioners


With respect

to

the allegations

set


of

the Petition,

the

9.

Village

refers

the

Court to the documents referenced therein for determination of

their

content,

meaning


Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With

respect

to

the allegations

set

forth

in

Paragraph 80 of

the

Petition,

the

0.

Village lacks knowledge or


to form

a

belief as to the

truth of

the


With respect to the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph 81 of

the

Petition, the

1.

Village

lacks knowledge or


to

form

a belief as to

the truth of the

allegations

set forth.

With


of

the Petition, the

2.


of

law for which no responsive pleading is

required,

but to the

extent an

answer

is made, the Village refers the Court to the

statutes

and/or regulations

referenced

therein

for determination

of their

content, meaning

and effect, and denies

Petitioners


With

respect

to

the allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph

83

of

the

Petition,

the

3.

allegations

set forth

conclusions

of law

for

which

no responsive

pleading

is

required, but to the

extent an

answer

is

made,

the Village refers the Court to the

statutes

and/or regulations

16


17/23

referenced therein

for


meaning

and

effect, and

denies Petitioners



of

the Petition, the4.

Village refers the Court to the documents referenced therein for determination

of

their content,

meaning

and

effect

and denies


85.

The Villagedenies

the

allegations

set

forth inParagraph 85

of

the

Petition.

With

respect


Paragraph

86

of

the Petition, the6.

Village lacks knowledge

or

information sufficient to

form

a belief as to the

truth

of the


87.

The Village

denies the allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph

87

of

the Petition.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph

88

of

the Petition,

the

8.

Village admits the allegations

in

the

first

and

second

sentences, but

denies

the

allegations in

the

third sentence

that these

documents are materially inconsistent. With

respect

to

the allegations

set

forth

in subparagraphs (a) through (c)

of

Paragraph

88 of

the

Petition,

the Village

refers the

Court to the documents referenced therein for determination of their content, meaning and effect

and denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.


set

forth in

Paragraph

89

of

the Petition, including

subparagraphs (a) through

(c) thereto, the

Village refers

the Court to the

documents

referenced

therein

for


content,

meaning and effect and denies Petitioners


With respect to

the

allegations set forth

in Paragraph

90

of

the Petition,

the

0.

Village lacks knowledge or


to

form

a belief as to

the truth of the

allegations

set

forth.

17


18/23

Wit

h respe

ct

to the alle

gations

set forth

in

Parag

raph

91

of t

he

Peti

tion, the

1.

V

illage

refers the Court

to

the

docume

nts

referenced

th

erein for determ

ination of their c

ontent,

meaning

and effect and

denies

Petitioners

charac

terization

there

of.

With

re

spect

to the all

egations

set forth

i

n

Paragraph 92 of

the

Pet

ition, t

he

2.

alle

gations set

forth

conclusions

of law

for w

hich

no respon

sive pleading

is

required

, but to th

e

extent an an

swer

is

m

ade,

th

e

V

illage refers

the

C

ourt to the

statutes and/or

regulations

r

eferenced th

erein for determin

ation

o

f their

content, mea

ning and effect, and

den

ies

Petitioners

ch

aracterization thereof.

With

respect

to

the allegations

set

forth in

Paragraph

93 of

the

Petition,

the

3.

Village

refers the Court

to

the

docum

ents referenced

therein for det

ermination

of

their co

ntent,

meanin

g and eff

ect and denies Pe

titioners characterizatio

n thereof.

94. TheVillag

e denie

s

the allegations s

et forth inP

aragraph

94

of

the

Pe

tition.

N

FOR

N NSWERTOTH

ETHTRT CL IM

FOR

R

FI IFF

95.

W

ith res

pect

to t

he

a

llegations

incorporated

by

r

eference in

Paragraph 95 of the

Petition

,

the

Village r

efers to its

responses to those allegati

ons

set

forth

above.

With

respec

t

to the a

llegations

set forth

in

Par

agraph 96 of

the

Pe

tition, the

6.

allegations

set forth conclu

sions of law for

which no r

esponsive ple

ading

is requ

ired, but

to the

extent

an answ

er is ma

de,

the

Village refers the Co

urt to the

statutes and/or

regulations

referenced

therein for determ

ination of

their content, m

eaning and

e

ffect, and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With

respect

to the allegations

set forth in Paragraph

97 of the

Petition, the

7.

allegations

set

forth

conclusion

s of

law for which no respon

sive pleadin

g is

requir

ed, but to

the

extent

an

answer

is

made, the Village refers the

Court to the

statutes and/or

regulations

18


19/23

referenced therein for determinationof their

content,

meaning and effect, and denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

With

respect to the allegations set forth

in

Paragraph 98 of the Petition, the8.

Village refers

the

Court to the documents referenced therein for determination of

their

content,

meaning

and

effect

and

denies

Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

99.

The Village

admits the allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

99 ofthe Petition.

100.

With

respect


Paragraph 100

of the Petition, the

allegations

set

forth

conclusions of law

for

which

no

responsive

pleading

is required, but to the

extent

an

answer is made, the

Village

refers the

Court to

the statutes and/or

regulations

referenced therein

for


content, meaning

and

effect, and

denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

101

The

Village

denies the allegations set forth inParagraph 101

of the

Petition.

ASAND

FORANANSWER

TO

THE FOURTH

CLAIMFOR

RELIEF

102.

With respect to the allegations incorporated

by

reference in Paragraph

102 of

the

Petition,

the

Village

refers

to its responses to those allegations set forth

above.

103.

The Village admits the allegations

set

forth

in

Paragraph

103

of

the Petition.

104.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph 104 of

the Petition, the

allegations

set

forth

conclusions

of

law

for which no responsive pleading is required,

but

to the

extent

an

answer

is made,

the Village refers

the

Court to

the statutes

and/or regulations

referenced

therein

for

determination

of

their

content, meaning and effect, and denies

Petitioners


105.

With

respect

to

the

allegations

set forth

in

Paragraph

105

of the

Petition,

the

allegations

set

forth

conclusions

of law

for which no responsive pleading

is required,

but to the

19


20/23

extent

an

answer is made,

the

Village

refers the Court

to

the statutes and/or regulations

referenced therein

for

determination

of

their content, meaning and effect, and denies Petitioners


106. With

respect

to the allegations set

forth

in

Paragraph

106

of

the Petition, the

allegations set forth conclusions of law for which no responsive pleading is required, but to the

extent

an

answer is

made, the

Village refers

the Court

to the

statutes and/or regulations

referenced therein

for

determination

of

their

content,

meaning and effect, and denies Petitioners

characterization

thereof.

The

Village

denies

the allegations

set

forth

in

Paragraph 107 ofthe

Petition.

07.

The Village denies

all

other allegations

of

the Petition not

specifically

admitted08.

herein.

AS

AND FOR

A

FIRST

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINT

OFLAW

Petitioners lack standing to assert the claims

set

forth in the

Amended

Verified

09.

Petition.

AS

AND FOR

ASECONDAFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION IN

POINT

OF

LAW

Petitioners claims are barred,

in

whole

or

in

part,

by

Petitioners failure

to

10.

exhaust their

administrative

remedies.

AS

AND FORATHIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION INPOINT OF

LAW

111. Petitioners claims are barred,

in

whole

or

in

part,

by

the doctrines

of

res

judicata,

collateral

estoppel, and/or law

of the case.

20


21/23

ASANDFORAFOURTH

AFFIRMATIVEDEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINTOF

LAW

112. Petitioners lack capacity to assert

the

claims

set

forth in

the

verified petition and

complaint.

AS AND

FORAFIFTHAFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION INPOINT

OFLAW

113. Upon

information and

belief, Petitioners failed to obtain legislative authorization

by properly adopted resolution

to commence this

proceeding and

the proceeding should,

therefore, be dismissed.

ASANDFOR

A

SIXTH

AFFIRMATIVE

DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINTOFLAW

114.

Petitioners claims

are

barred, in whole or in part, by mootness,

laches,

estoppel

and/orwaiver.

AS AND

FORA SEVENTHAFFIRMATIVEDEFENSE

AND

OBJECTION

IN

POINTOFLAW

115.

Petitioners claims

are

barred,

in

whole or inpart, by

this

Court's

lack of

subject

matter

jurisdiction.

AS AND FOR

AN

EIGHTH

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINT

OF

LAW

116.

Petitioners

claims

fail to state a claim

or

cause

of

action upon

which

relief

canbe

granted.

AS AND

FOR

A

NINTHAFFIRMATIVEDEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINTOF

LAW

1

17. Petitioners claims

are

barred,

in

whole or

in

part,

by

documentary

evidence.

21


22/23

AS

ANDFOR

A

TENTHAFFIRMATIVE

DEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINT

OF

LAW

118. Petitioners

claims

are barred, inwhole or inpart, because they

are not aggrieved

by the

disapproval

of

the 507-acre

annexationpetition.

AS

AND FOR

ANELEVENTHAFFIRMATIVEDEFENSE

AND OBJECTION

IN

POINT

OF

LAW

119. Petitioners

claims

are barred,

in

whole or

in

part, by the doctrine

of

ripeness.

AS AND FORANTWELFTHAFFIRMATIVE

DEFENSE

AND

OBJECTION

IN

POINTOFLAW

120.

Petitioners

claims

are barred,

in

whole or

in

part,

because of

failure

to

comply

withCPLR9802.

WHEREFORE, Respondents

Village

of Kiryas Joel Board of Trustees

and

Village og

Kiryas

Joel

respectfully

request that this Court enter

a

judgment

dismissing the Amended

Verified

Petition

in its

entirety, awarding it

the

costs, disbursements

and attorneys

fees

incurred

in this proceeding,

and

awarding it

such

other relief as this Court shall

deem just,

proper

or

equitable.

Dated:

Albany, New

York

January

22,

2016

WHITEMAN

OSTERMAN

HANNALLP

Ar lJJM U i

y:

John J Henry,

Esq.

Michael

G.

Sterthous, Esq.

Robert S Rosborough

IV,

Esq.

Attorneys forRespondent VillageBoard

of

the

Villageof

Kiryas

Joel

One Commerce Plaza

Albany,

New

York

12260

(518) 487-7600

22


23/23

VERIFICATION

STATE OF NEWYORK

)

: ss.

COUNTY OF

ALBANY )

MICHAEL G. STERTHOUS, ESQ., being

duly

sworn,

deposes and

says

as follows:

I am a member of

Whiteman

Osterman

Hanna LLP,

attorneys for

Respondents

Village of

Kiryas Joel

Board

of

Trustees andVillage ofKiryas Joel

in

this

matter.

I

have read

the

foregoing

Verified

Answer and

the

same is

true to

my own.

knowledge, except those

matters

stated to

be

upon information and belief, and as to those

matters, I believe them to be true. The

source

of my belief

is my

review of

the

pertinent

documents and

information provided

by

my

client.

The

reason why

this

verification is

made by

me

and not

Respondents is

that.

Respondent does not

have

a principal place ofbusiness

within

the County

ofAlbany.

X J

A

MICHAEL G.

STERTHOUS,

ESQ.

Sworn

to

before me this

22nd day

of

January, 2016

r

Notary

Public

.

CLAIBORNE

E WALTHALL

Notary Public, State

of

NewYork

Qualified inAlbany County

^ No.

02WA6330597

?

Commission

Expires

September

21, 20

/

verified answer (pro 1 7410-2015) 012216

Documents