Atlantic Beach to pay Jewish group $400G to settle discrimination suit

The Village of Atlantic Beach has agreed to pay a Long Beach-based Jewish organization $400,000 to settle a federal religious discrimination lawsuit over redevelopment of a Park Street property, records show.

In 2021, Chabad Lubavitch of the Beaches, an organization affiliated with the Hasidic Jewish movement that was seeking to expand its South Shore footprint, purchased a building on Park Street in Atlantic Beach, less than a block from Village Hall, for $950,000 with plans to build a community and educational center.

But less than a month after the purchase — and only weeks after the Chabad held an outdoor menorah lighting at the site — the village announced it would seize the property, which had been vacant for several years, through eminent domain to build its own community and lifeguard operations center.

After the village moved to condemn the property, the Chabad filed a federal lawsuit in Central Islip in July 2022, citing religious discrimination. The court later issued a temporary restraining order, blocking Atlantic Beach from continuing with the eminent domain claim.

The village's "actions discriminate against Chabad of the Beaches on the basis of religion, advance no compelling government interest, and are far from the least restrictive means of advancing the village’s purported — albeit pretextual — goals," the lawsuit stated.

On Nov. 13, attorneys with Greenberg Traurig, the village's Garden City-based attorneys, recommended settling the lawsuit, citing the ongoing legal costs, which have already exceeded $300,000, and the risk of losing the case, with damages expected to far exceed $400,000.

"The parties have expended significant efforts and money in connection with the lawsuit," attorney James Miskiewicz told the village board, according to public records. "To avoid the cost and uncertainty of litigation, Chabad and the Village have worked hard to resolve the dispute amicably."

In exchange for dropping the lawsuit, the village agreed to pay Chabad $400,000 over the next four years, records show. Atlantic Beach would also drop its eminent domain proceedings and adopt a resolution welcoming the Chabad to the village. The board voted unanimously to approve the settlement.

Rabbi Eli Goodman, director of the Chabad, and his attorneys at the nonprofit First Liberty Institute, a conservative religious group based in Plano, Texas, did not respond to requests for comment.

Goodman has previously said that the village's actions were rooted in anti-Semitism, a claim Atlantic Beach officials denied.

In a statement, Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas said "we are eager to finalize the agreement and put this matter behind us."

The village's lone house of worship is the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, which serves modern orthodox congregants.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.