Share the legal fund with your neighbors.

Update on the Inspiration Wharf legal fund: the lawyers are hired and the case is filed.

The question hasn’t changed — did the Town follow the law when it approved the Inspiration Wharf condo project on the waterfront? On July 14, 39 speakers asked the Town Board to slow down. The Board approved everything that same night, 7–0.

In one week, 299 neighbors gave $30,000. That retained Underberg & Kessler — Mindy Zoghlin and Jacob Zoghlin, who represent neighborhood associations and community groups in cases like this all over New York. On August 13 they filed the Article 78 petition in Nassau County Supreme Court. Now the Town has to answer, and a judge hears it.

The $75,000 goal is what carries the case all the way through a judge’s decision, and we’re still short of it.

Chip in or share: https://gofund.me/e0bd601e5

Read more: https://sospw.org/initiatives/inspiration-wharf

If you missed it: on July 14 the Town of North Hempstead approved Inspiration Wharf — 38 for-sale condos with an underground parking garage on 2.78 acres of the Port Washington waterfront.

The site is a former coal yard, now in New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program — the state program for contaminated land. The public records show contamination above state cleanup standards on every lot, and groundwater 5 to 9 feet down flowing toward Manhasset Bay. The testing isn’t finished.

More than 80 residents filled Town Hall that night. Across five hours, 39 speakers asked the Board to slow down. It approved everything the same night, 7–0.

Say what you will about the old boatyard — it’s an eyesore, and nobody is defending it. That was never the question.

The question is whether the Town followed the rules it has to follow. And New York gives neighbors exactly one way to ask: an Article 78 case in front of a judge.

That case is now real. In the first week, 299 neighbors gave $30,000, and the committee hired Underberg & Kessler — Mindy Zoghlin and Jacob Zoghlin, attorneys who represent residents, neighborhood associations, and community groups in land use and environmental cases across New York. On August 13 they filed the petition in Nassau County Supreme Court. Now the Town has to answer, and a judge hears it.

Nobody’s promising a sure thing: these cases are hard, and courts usually side with town boards. But this case is about rules the Town was required to follow, and now a judge will be asked about them.

Legal fees for the whole case run about $55,000 — down from the $75,000–$100,000 first estimated — and the overall goal is $75,000 to cover experts and court costs too. We’re still short of it.

Donate: https://gofund.me/e0bd601e5

Read more: https://sospw.org/initiatives/inspiration-wharf

This is happening in Port Washington, but the water doesn’t stop there.

On July 14, the Town of North Hempstead approved a 38-condo project with an underground parking garage on a former coal yard at the Port Washington waterfront.

The site is in New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program — the state program for contaminated land. The public records show contamination above state cleanup standards on every lot, and groundwater 5 to 9 feet down that flows toward Manhasset Bay — the bay we all share. The Board signed off on “no significant environmental impact” before the testing was finished.

39 speakers asked the Board to slow down. It approved everything that night, 7–0.

Port Washington neighbors hired a law firm to ask a court whether the Town followed the law — Underberg & Kessler, attorneys who represent residents and community groups in land use and environmental cases across New York. 299 neighbors funded it in a week, and on August 13 the petition was filed in Nassau County Supreme Court. The $75,000 goal carries the case through a judge’s decision, and it’s still short.

Donate or share: https://gofund.me/e0bd601e5

Read more: https://sospw.org/initiatives/inspiration-wharf