Massa v. City of Kingston

235 A.D.2d 947, 652 N.Y.S.2d 857, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 745
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJanuary 30, 1997
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 235 A.D.2d 947 (Massa v. City of Kingston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Massa v. City of Kingston, 235 A.D.2d 947, 652 N.Y.S.2d 857, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 745 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

Spain, J.

Appeals (1) from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Torraca, J.), entered December 5, 1995 in Ulster County, which dismissed petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, to vacate a stop-work order issued by respondents, and (2) from an order of said court, entered February 14, 1996 in Ulster County, which denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.

Petitioner is the owner of residential property situated in the City of Kingston, Ulster County. On September 8, 1995 petitioner obtained two building permits for the construction of an addition to petitioner’s residence and for the construction of a retaining wall along the westerly lot line of the parcel on which the addition is being constructed. The permits were issued by respondent City of Kingston and respondent Superintendent of the City’s Department of Buildings. The building permit covering the addition to petitioner’s residence was issued on the condition that petitioner construct a retaining wall to replace an existing retaining wall which was in a severe state of deterioration and disrepair; the state of the wall has been the subject of contention between petitioner, her neighbors, and the City for several years leading up to the time the permits were issued. The permit for the addition to the residence specifically states: "[t]hese permits are issued in a spirit of good faith and can be withdrawn or a stop work order issued should the wall not be built”. Petitioner did not object to said condition at the time the permits were issued.

As part of her application for the wall permit, petitioner submitted a proposed site plan, which contains, in the area labeled "scope of work”, a statement that in order to construct the retaining wall "a 20 foot easement will be required from the adjoining property owners * * * [which] will be obtained by the City”. Although the City admits that it agreed to help petitioner gain necessary access by contacting and negotiating with her adjoining neighbors, it emphatically denies that it ever agreed to obtain an easement for petitioner and has submitted uncontroverted proof that petitioner was advised by City officials that the City could not and would not obtain an easement for her and, further, that the statement at issue on the site plan was crossed out by a City official before the building permit was issued. The site plan also contained detailed drawings of a "new Keystone Retaining Wall System of precast cement” which would be upwards of 19 feet in height and run approximately 300 feet along the westerly lot line of petitioner’s parcel.

After construction on the addition to the residence com[948]*948menced, the City forwarded three proposed license agreements to petitioner which would have allowed petitioner access to her adjoining neighbors’ properties. Petitioner refused to enter into any licensing agreements with her neighbors, renewing her claim that the City had agreed to obtain a 20-foot-wide permanent easement which would have provided her and her contractors not only the right to enter and construct the new wall but also would provide her with the right to enter for the purposes of maintaining the wall in the future. Eventually, the City informed petitioner that if the license agreements were not promptly executed by petitioner and returned to the City, so that work on the wall could get started, stop-work orders would be issued. On October 17, 1995, after petitioner failed to return the executed license agreements and no work on the wall had started, the City issued a stop-work order covering each of the building permits. The stop-work order cites a violation of Kingston City Code and states that there had been false statements and misrepresentations submitted in petitioner’s application for the permit(s).

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Related

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47 A.D.3d 1106 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2008)
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Massa v. City of Kingston
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143 F. Supp. 2d 379 (S.D. New York, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 A.D.2d 947, 652 N.Y.S.2d 857, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 745, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/massa-v-city-of-kingston-nyappdiv-1997.