516-227-0700

Woodbury Trying to Force Mansion Owners to Sell

August 22, 2019

Peter Curry was quoted in the Times-Herald Record regarding eminent domain proceedings for a 210 year old mansion in Woodbury.

Below is an excerpt from the article.

Village officials plan to go to court if necessary to try to buy a 210-year-old mansion on Route 32 and the 142 acres on which it sits from the relatives who inherited the property from the home’s sole occupant after she died last year.

The Woodbury Village Board voted in May to begin eminent domain proceedings after its initial overtures to buy the property were rebuffed, and is set to authorize hiring an appraiser at Thursday night’s meeting to calculate the value of the 7,000-square-foot house and sprawling property on both sides of Route 32. The board intends to make a formal purchase offer based on that appraisal, and then seek court approval to buy it through eminent domain if the heirs reject the offer.

Peter Curry, a Long Island attorney representing the new owners, told the Times Herald-Record this week that his clients want to keep the property, and that he has been trying to get the village’s attorney to explain more clearly the village’s water concerns. He said the Niemand family satisfied previous water-related requests from the village, and was willing to help further if those interests were spelled out.

“It’s been very difficult to identify the village’s true need,” said Curry, a partner in the Uniondale-based firm Farrell Fritz.

He said the village’s acquisition effort has been “very troubling to my clients.”

To read the full article, please click here.

  • Featured Attorneys: Peter L. Curry
  • Publications: Times Herald Record