Sunrise Development, seeking to build assisted living facility, sues Islip over zoning hearing

A developer and a Bay Shore seminary have sued to compel the Town of Islip to schedule a public hearing so that an application for a proposed assisted living facility can move forward. 

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court on March 20, argues that local law requires the town board to set a public hearing for a zone change, which the developer applied for in December 2021. The facility can't be built on the proposed site under current zoning restrictions.

The developer, Sunrise Development Inc., requested the town board to change the zoning for 7½ acres of the 13.83-acre Montfort Spiritual Center property in Bay Shore from residential to one that permits assisted living facilities.

The developer has halved the number of units originally proposed in 2019, and is now seeking to build a 90-unit age-restricted memory care community on the property owned by the Missionaries of the Company of Mary, according to the suit. The proposed facility would serve residents who are 88 years old on average and suffer from physiological or mental conditions like dementia, the developer said. 

Court records show the developer also argued that the application should be heard to accommodate the Fair Housing Amendments Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, which serve the facility's intended population.

The suit, filed by the Amato Law Group of Garden City, says the developer made multiple requests to the town board for a hearing on the zoning change — without any response.

Last year, the town planning board held two public hearings on the application for the proposed facility. At the second hearing, in September, the board voted to recommend to deny the application. The lawsuit argues that the town board is not bound by the planning board's recommendation.

Court records show that the developer's pending application would preserve the rest of the site, 6.33 acres, as undeveloped open-space waterfront in perpetuity. 

"Sunrise is entitled to a hearing, pursuant to [town] code," said attorney Alfred Amato, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case. "We have contacted the town on multiple occasions, both in writing and on the phone to obtain the hearing date. They have not provided a hearing date, nor have they provided any response to the written request. The lawsuit is very simple; we are just simply asking to be heard by the town board."

Sunrise Development, based in McLean, Virginia, operates 10 other New York State-licensed assisted living residences on Long Island, according to the lawsuit.

The Missionaries of the Company of Mary is registered as a nonprofit, according to the suit.

An online portal for public court records on Friday afternoon did not include documents filed in response by the Town of Islip. 

A town spokesperson said it's town policy not to comment on pending litigation.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.