To Defer or Not to Defer: Judicial Review of Zoning Board Decisions in New York Note 2 Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal 2003-2004

2 Cardozo Pub. L. Pol'y & Ethics J. 421 (2003-2004)
To Defer or Not to Defer: Judicial Review of Zoning Board Decisions in New York

handle is hein.journals/cardplp2 and id is 427 raw text is: TO DEFER OR NOT TO DEFER: JUDICIAL
REVIEW OF ZONING BOARD DECISIONS IN
NEW YORK
Elliot Gardner*
INTRODUCTION
Village Wins Reversal in Mall Zoning Action, announced the
headline in July 12, 2002's Garden City Life.' A highly contested zon-
ing battle-which began in 1999 with an attempt by the owners of the
Roosevelt Field Mall to secure permission to expand the mall-had en-
ded in defeat for the developers, and in victory for the zoning board and
its neighborhood allies.2 The case, Retail Property Trust v. Zoning Board
of Appeals,3 was one of a trio of zoning cases handed down by the New
York Court of Appeals on July 1, 2002,' all of which had the effect of
reinstating local zoning board decisions that had been overturned by
* Book Note Editor, Cardozo Law Review, Candidate for Jurist Doctor (June 2004). The
author would like to thank Professor Stewart E. Sterk for his generous advice and invaluable
guidance in preparing this Note. He would also like to thank his wife, Aviva Rothman, for her
support, patience, and proofreading.
1 Village Wins Reversal in Mall Zoning Action, GARDEN CITY LIFE, July 12, 2002 (The suit
involved the proposed expansion of Roosevelt Field Mall, the largest mall on the Island ....
Garden City opposed the expansion because of the effect it would have on traffic in the area
.) available at http://antonnews.com/gardencitylife/2002/07 /12/news/reverse.html.
2 See id. The dispute received considerable attention from area newspapers. See, e.g., Sid
Cassese, Mall Construction Angers Opponents, NEWSDAY, Feb. 4, 1999, at A37; Sid Cassese, Some
Won't Pave Way For Mall's Expansion, NEWSDAY, Feb. 12, 1999, at A49; Board Rejects Expansion
of Roosevelt FieldMall, N.Y. TIMES, Mar. 25, 1999, at B10; Sid Cassese, Mall Evpansion For Saks
Denied, NEWSDAY, Mar. 26, 1999, at A8; Robert Gearty, Board KOs Saks Store in Mall, DAILY
NEWS (N.Y.), Mar. 26, 1999, at S6; Terry C. Williams, How Mega Can a Mall Be?: Roosevelt
Field, 3.3 Million Square Feet, Wants to Expand. Some Think It's Too Big Already, N.Y. TIMES,
Mar. 28, 1999, at 14LI; Terry C. Williams, Judge Upholds Bar to Mall Expansion, N.Y. TIMES,
Dec. 12, 1999, at 14LI; Alan J. Wax, Court Orders New Review of Mall Plan, NEWSDAY, Mar.
22, 2001, at A53; Terry C. Williams, Appeals Court Reversal on Roosevelt Field, N.Y. TIMES, Mar.
25, 2001, at 14LI. The papers lost interest in the case after Saks decided in July 2001 to
abandon its plans to open a store at Roosevelt Field. See Alan J. Wax, Saks Sacks Plans to Move
To the Mall, NEWSDAY, July 25, 2001, at A42; Vivian S. Toy, Spurning Mall, Saks to Stay in
Garden City, N.Y. TIMES, July 29, 2001, at 1411.
3 98 N.Y.2d 190 (2002).
4 See id. See also Ifrah v. Utschig, 98 N.Y.2d 304 (2002); P.M.S. Assets v. Zoning Board of
Appeals, 98 N.Y.2d 683 (2002).

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