Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over St. James' Bull Run Farm
Former Bull Run Farm property on Mills Pond Road in Saint James on Friday. Credit: Morgan Campbell
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a developer who challenged a Smithtown law on the grounds it discriminated against the company's proposal for an assisted living facility in St. James.
Mills Pond Group LLC of Fort Salonga proposed building Whisper Mills Assisted Living on a 1.1-acre parcel it purchased in 2019 — part of the former Bull Run Farm property on Mills Pond Road. Developer Frank Amicizia heads the company.
Last year, the Smithtown Town Board voted to amend its zoning code and eliminate assisted living facilities as a special exception in residential districts, the lawsuit alleged. The decision left the developer "with no hope of moving forward," according to the lawsuit. The developers sued the town and several of its officials in March, claiming the town had discriminated against future residents who would be “senior, elderly and/or disabled.”
U.S. District Court Judge Gary R. Brown wrote in his Oct. 16 ruling that the plaintiffs in the case lacked standing to sue.
Brown said the developers' suit was, "fictitious, indeed, overtly so,” and criticized the listing of dozens of plaintiffs only as “John Doe” and “Jane Doe” because they were "unidentified people" intended to represent future residents of the proposed facility.
Brown wrote that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue discrimination claims against the town because the developer “fails to plausibly allege that its ‘principal purpose is to develop assisted living residences.’”
The developer could have filed a change of zone application with the town or applied for a variance, but hadn't done so, Brown wrote.
Attorneys for the developer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in a statement the town was “pleased with the court’s decision, though we fully expected Judge Gary Brown to reach this outcome.”
"The Town of Smithtown and the Town Board must operate strictly within land use regulations and municipal codes. Personal opinions — whether from elected officials or the public — do not guide these decisions,” Wehrheim said.
In October, a Suffolk Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the town and Gyrodyne LLC over the company's plan to subdivide the Flowerfield Fairgrounds property in St. James.
The town's planning board reviewed the proposal adequately and addressed concerns about potentially adverse impacts to the environment, Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Maureen Liccione wrote in her ruling. Gyrodyne proposed building an assisted living facility and medical office space on the 63-acre property. The Village of Head of the Harbor, along with area residents, sued the town and Gyrodyne in April 2022.
The pair of lawsuits cost the town $100,000 in "taxpayer funds," Wehrheim said in his statement.
Joe Bollhofer, a board member of the Saint James-Head of the Harbor Neighborhood Coalition, has advocated for preserving the Bull Run property.
His group hopes the town will partner with the state, Suffolk County or other entities to purchase the property “at fair value” to preserve it, he said.
“I know that people are still writing to the town and encouraging them to move forward with efforts to preserve the property,” Bollhofer said. “Whether the town is going to try and do that, I don’t know.”
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a developer who challenged a Smithtown law on the grounds it discriminated against the company's proposal for an assisted living facility in St. James.
Mills Pond Group LLC of Fort Salonga proposed building Whisper Mills Assisted Living on a 1.1-acre parcel it purchased in 2019 — part of the former Bull Run Farm property on Mills Pond Road. Developer Frank Amicizia heads the company.
Last year, the Smithtown Town Board voted to amend its zoning code and eliminate assisted living facilities as a special exception in residential districts, the lawsuit alleged. The decision left the developer "with no hope of moving forward," according to the lawsuit. The developers sued the town and several of its officials in March, claiming the town had discriminated against future residents who would be “senior, elderly and/or disabled.”
U.S. District Court Judge Gary R. Brown wrote in his Oct. 16 ruling that the plaintiffs in the case lacked standing to sue.
Brown said the developers' suit was, "fictitious, indeed, overtly so,” and criticized the listing of dozens of plaintiffs only as “John Doe” and “Jane Doe” because they were "unidentified people" intended to represent future residents of the proposed facility.
Brown wrote that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue discrimination claims against the town because the developer “fails to plausibly allege that its ‘principal purpose is to develop assisted living residences.’”
The developer could have filed a change of zone application with the town or applied for a variance, but hadn't done so, Brown wrote.
Attorneys for the developer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in a statement the town was “pleased with the court’s decision, though we fully expected Judge Gary Brown to reach this outcome.”
"The Town of Smithtown and the Town Board must operate strictly within land use regulations and municipal codes. Personal opinions — whether from elected officials or the public — do not guide these decisions,” Wehrheim said.
In October, a Suffolk Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the town and Gyrodyne LLC over the company's plan to subdivide the Flowerfield Fairgrounds property in St. James.
The town's planning board reviewed the proposal adequately and addressed concerns about potentially adverse impacts to the environment, Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Maureen Liccione wrote in her ruling. Gyrodyne proposed building an assisted living facility and medical office space on the 63-acre property. The Village of Head of the Harbor, along with area residents, sued the town and Gyrodyne in April 2022.
The pair of lawsuits cost the town $100,000 in "taxpayer funds," Wehrheim said in his statement.
Joe Bollhofer, a board member of the Saint James-Head of the Harbor Neighborhood Coalition, has advocated for preserving the Bull Run property.
His group hopes the town will partner with the state, Suffolk County or other entities to purchase the property “at fair value” to preserve it, he said.
“I know that people are still writing to the town and encouraging them to move forward with efforts to preserve the property,” Bollhofer said. “Whether the town is going to try and do that, I don’t know.”
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