Atlantic Beach Chabad fighting eminent domain attempt

A Hasidic Jewish group has filed a lawsuit and been granted a temporary restraining order against the Village of Atlantic Beach, alleging officials there are attempting to exert eniment domain to seize a property recently purchased for use as a Jewish community center.

Court records show the suit was filed last week on behalf of Chabad Lubavitch of the Beaches, which then was granted the TRO Friday by a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of New York.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for July 29 at federal court in Manhattan, according to records.

The dispute revolves around the property at 2025 Park St. in Atlantic Beach, at the foot of the Atlantic Beach Bridge.

The suit alleges that the 9,995 square-foot property, the former site of a Capital One Bank, had been vacant for "at least three years" and had been for sale since December 2019 before being purchased by the Chabad for $950,000 on Nov. 18, 2021. 

The suit states that the Chabad acquired the property "with the intent of opening a Chabad House offering religious services, religious education, and other Jewish outreach activities" -- and said the site had been selected because of its "high-visibility location" at the bridge, which is a "main entry point to Long Beach Barrier Island."

But the suit alleges that not long after Chabad held a Dec. 2 menorah lighting at the property to celebrate Hannukah, the village board of trustees, on Dec. 13, "unanimously adopted" a resolution to begin the process of seizing the property and the neighboring lot, at 2035 Park St., through eminent domain.

The board of trustees said it wanted the sites to build a recreational facility and community center with "lifeguard beach operations."

The 33-page suit, filed July 14 in U.S. District Court, names the Incorporated Village of Atlantic Beach, Mayor George Pappas, Deputy Mayor Edward A. Sullivan and other village trustees as defendants.

The suit asserts that the village has multiple parcels it already owns that are "equally if not better suited to a community and lifeguard operations center," including "several acres" of undeveloped land also adjacent to the Atlantic Beach Bridge.

It also claims that zoning ordinances dating back more than a decade have shown "codified hostility towards religion," including a 2007 ordinance "regulating 'religious and educational uses' of land in the village to address 'the concerns of the surrounding Village inhabitants about the potential adverse effects on the quality of life that these uses may engender.'"

The ordinance permits the village to deny approval to establish a “religious ... use in the Village” if the village believes such use “will sufficiently detract from the public’s health, safety, welfare or morals,” the lawsuit says.

The village Board of Trustees released a statement Thursday saying: "The Village of Atlantic Beach began the process to acquire the 2025 and 2035 Park Street properties in November of 2020, a year prior to the Chabad Lubavitch of the Beaches, Inc. purchasing the property. The Village engaged with both an attorney as well as a real estate appraiser at that time. These properties were identified because they are uniquely adjacent to existing Village assets and allow for the opportunity to build a year-round recreational facility as well as create additional park land for all residents of Atlantic Beach to enjoy. 

The eminent domain process exists to ensure the owners of these properties receive fair market value for them. We do not pursue a process of this nature lightly. We do believe the benefits these two properties will provide our community are too great to ignore, offering the opportunity to greatly enhance the quality of the village's recreational and park land assets. Our actions have never and will never be based on any bias or motives other than doing what is best for our beloved community and its residents today and for future generations of Atlantic Beach homeowners."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”