Dec 19, 2012 11:34 AM
A State Supreme Court judge on Friday afternoon denied Southampton Town’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have forced the removal of thousands of storm-damaged vehicles now being stored near a sand mine in Speonk.
But Judge Thomas F. Whelan also ruled that the estimated 5,000 vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy cannot be dismantled or otherwise tampered with, and that the site off Speonk-Riverhead Road cannot accept any additional cars or trucks, according to Southampton Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato.
Ms. Scarlato said she could not give a reason why Judge Whelan denied the request to have the vehicles removed, but said on Monday that she thought he probably took into consideration the emergency circumstances created by Hurricane Sandy.
She also said that Copart, a national car auction company, had been storing... more
But Judge Thomas F. Whelan also ruled that the estimated 5,000 vehicles damaged by Hurricane Sandy cannot be dismantled or otherwise tampered with, and that the site off Speonk-Riverhead Road cannot accept any additional cars or trucks, according to Southampton Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato.
Ms. Scarlato said she could not give a reason why Judge Whelan denied the request to have the vehicles removed, but said on Monday that she thought he probably took into consideration the emergency circumstances created by Hurricane Sandy.
She also said that Copart, a national car auction company, had been storing... more
Are any of the ...more cars leaking any fluids? Was this possibility part of the Town's motion before the judge?
Have a good weekend, all.
Peace on Earth!
And I'm not surprised in the least to hear the verdict knowing that it's Judge Whelan. He has a terrible record when it comes to agreeing with municipalities no matter what the argument.
So far the cars @ EPCAL haven't been removed ...more (despite a direct order from the gun-toting DEC), Brookhaven hasn't been able to make any ground against illegal storage in their Town and this judge says "yea the 3-5k cars are fine, no big deal" (which, btw, how is there SUCH a wide range? After going to court, shouldn't copart have to have given him an exact figure?)
And as for what HB90 has to say - PBR is right. The vehicle storage is a violation of zoning regulations and is a potential danger to the health and well-being of the community
The correctness of the judge's ruling can only be assessed within the procedural context of the Town's motion: a TRO probably. If the hearing on the 28th is for a preliminary injunction, the court will be following different standards, and a clear zoning violation COULD result in an order to remove the cars.
Don't let any facts get in your way. The SCPD has sored vehicles at the Westhampton Police Facilities for years. Never more than a few hundred. Not "thousands" as you claim. And it is the SCPD, NOT SHTown that has been doing it. Very few of them damaged by storms or floods, most likely, impounds for vehicle and trafffic violations.