Weber Law Group LLP, welcomed the ruling by New York State Supreme Court justice Jeffrey Spinner that the town must issue Taubman Centers Inc. its long-delayed special use permit for The Mall at Oyster Bay. The luxury shopping center, to be anchored by Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Barney's New York, will be one of the first new major retail properties on Long Island in 30 years.
"The court has now definitively ruled that there is no legal basis for the town to further delay the mall," said Morton Weber. "We're very pleased with the judge's ruling and are very proud of our litigation team of Sy Gruza and Garret Gray. Taubman is prepared to begin construction on The Mall at Oyster Bay pending the town complying with the court's decision."
This new decision follows the court's decision on June 11, 2007 which set a 90-day final deadline for the town to either identify evidence it alleged could justify a demand for a supplemental environmental impact statement or else issue the special use permit in compliance with the court's initial July 8, 2002 order. The recent decision confirms that the town had no such evidence and therefore must issue the special use permit.
"This is our 10th straight court victory," said Weber, "and we hope the town will hear the message in this decision and stop the delays and allow this mall to be built and the substantial economic benefit to the town, county and state economy to begin. It is Taubman's goal to build what will be one of the finest shopping destinations in the nation and one of the town's and county's major economic resources."
The project, which will cost up to $500 million, will complete an environmental and economic transformation of the former Cerro Wire manufacturing complex. Site clean-up and preparation has been completed, and construction of the mall is expected to generate 3,000 to 3,500 jobs in the building trades while pumping nearly a half billion dollars into the county's economy. When open, the mall is expected to generate greater than $50 million in annual salaries and nearly $8.6 million in annual real estate tax revenues for the town and county, including nearly $4.7 million for the Syosset School District. The mall is also expected to generate nearly $30 million in annual sales taxes and add 2,000 permanent jobs.

Weber Law Group LLP represents a client base that includes publicly and privately help real estate developers, financial institutions, retailers, manufacturers, and other significant contributors to New York's commercial landscape. The Firm's practice areas include zoning, land use, environmental law, commercial real estate transactions, public and private financing, litigation, and governmental affairs. Tags: