POUGHKEEPSIE – The City’s Common Council has been served with another lawsuit from potential developers. Pelton Partners, the group seeking to restore the Pelton Mansion and build more than 40 market-value apartments surrounding the mansion, had their plans vetoed by the council in October of 2020 and are now asking a judge to intervene. An overview of the proposal can be viewed here.
Businessmen Wayne Nussbickel and Steve Tinkleman formed Pelton Partners in 2015 and signed an agreement with the City of Poughkeepsie to convert the 2.6-acre property into housing and restore the mansion that was built in 1859 provided they secured the appropriate permits. The proposed project received approvals from the planning board as well as the support of several state officials, including the Governor, Senator Sue Serino, and the late Assemblyman Frank Skartados.
The Historic District and Landmark Preservation Commission (HDLPC), also named in the lawsuit, refused to grant a “Certificate of Appropriateness,” thereby stalling the project last year.
The partners appealed to the council in October of 2020. The lawmakers sided with the HDLPC. After the council refused to reverse the decision of the all-volunteer HDLPC in a 6-3 vote, Nussbickel indicated that litigation was possible. The partners, through their attorney Ken Stenger, filed the Article 78 proceeding on January 30. “This project is too good to walk away from,” Nussbickel said when the council voted against him. Explaining why the partners brought the lawsuit, Nussbickel said, “We were dumbfounded when the council sided with the HDLPC. We had an agreement in place with the city since 2015 that was ignored by several members of the current council. It was a travesty.”
The HDLPC asserts that the mansion needs to be preserved. It has been vacant since the Poughkeepsie Day Nursery shuttered the building in 2014. The nursery had operated there since 1912. Since being vacated, the property has become inundated with individuals using the secluded property on North Clover Street for drug use. Several residents of the neighborhood have repeatedly alerted city hall to the hazards of numerous discarded syringes scattered throughout the property. City DPW workers are routinely sent down to the site to collect the dangerous needles. The mansion itself has fallen into disrepair and is now surrounded by fencing in an attempt to keep people out.
The lawsuit says that the 2015 common council declared that the proposed project would not have a negative impact on the surrounding area. According to Stenger, the HDLPC claimed to have the authority to stop the project because they designated the mansion as a landmark. The attorney rebukes that argument, saying that no designation was ever filed with the Dutchess County Clerk, pursuant to the law, and has submitted a certificate from the Dutchess County Clerk, indicating that no such document was filed.
Stenger said he will argue that, because the document was never filed, the HDLPC never had the authority to review the proposal and therefore, “This is what happens when volunteer boards neglect to adhere to the rule of law,” he said. “Pelton Partners is asking for the court to rely on the submitted evidence to overturn the council and the HDLPC, allowing the project to continue. When the court rules in favor of my clients, they will apply for a building permit the next day.”
Mayor Rob Rolison was served with the lawsuit on Thursday because the city is also named. “This is an unfortunate situation,” said Rolison. The council has recently been brought to court by developer Joe Bonura Jr. over the proposed development of the Poughkeepsie waterfront. “The taxpayers are being forced to bear the costs associated with multiple lawsuits. The Bonura Hospitality Group is suing the city; Pelton Partners is suing the city; the council is suing me, and I was forced to file a countersuit against the council. These lawsuits are costly to the taxpayers of Poughkeepsie.”
Councilman Chris Petsas represents the First Ward, where the Pelton Mansion project is situated, has endorsed the plan since its inception. After the vote in October, Petsas criticized his colleagues who voted against Pelton. “The people that voted against this don’t even live near Pelton!” After being served with the Pelton lawsuit on Wednesday, he expressed his frustration with council actions resulting in lawsuits. “Governing through litigation is an absolute disgrace. In October I said the denial by the majority was another black eye for the city. At the time I never imagined that we would be involved in multiple lawsuits. The Pelton project would bring needed housing to the city while also generating tax revenue for the city coffers. Instead, we will once again be forced to spend taxpayer dollars in a courtroom instead of improving the city. We need a change.”
