FISHKILL – The Westchester-based realtor and developer of the proposed Continental Commons has followed through with the promise of a federal lawsuit against members of the Fishkill town board and the Town of Fishkill for allegedly violating his civil rights. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court on Christmas Eve.
Domenic Broccoli, a stakeholder of GLD3 LLC and Snook-9 Realty LLC, has been at odds with current Town Supervisor Azem “Ozzy” Albra over the development of Broccoli’s property near the intersection of I-84 and Route 9. The developer and Albra have been involved in multiple lawsuits regarding Continental Commons. A recount of the legal battles can be read HERE. A group opposed to the project and vocal supporters of Abra, the “Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot” also tried to stop the project but were denied in court.
The most recent lawsuit claims that Albra, along with town board members Jacqueline Bardini, Joseph Buono, Louise Danielle, and Kenya Gadsden violated Broccoli’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by preventing him from developing Continental Commons. The lawsuit, filed by Broccoli’s attorneys at Holland and Knight LLC alleges that the defendants “Improper, illegal, and unauthorized actions on the part of various municipal officials and municipal authorities of the Town of Fishkill have denied Plaintiffs of substantive and procedural due process of equal protection…”
“I successfully completed a four-year state environmental and local review for Continental Commons. To stop my plan for an 18th-century colonial village with shops, restaurants, inn, and museum, Supervisor Albra and Town Board members abused their powers and deprived my family of our civil rights,” Broccoli told Mid-Hudson News. “Supreme Court Justice Brandeis once said that sunlight is the ultimate disinfectant. Truer words were never spoken, as we see Supervisor Albra continuing his war on jurisprudence, and fundamental fairness itself. I believe that this is all part of a massive scheme to deny my property rights, and ultimately to seize my property.”
The lawsuit also notes that a campaign advertisement that ran in November of 2021 on behalf of Gadsden, Buono, and Bardini defamed the plaintiffs and claimed “Victories against the big NYC developers looking to turn a quick profit and leave our town in shambles,” with regard to zoning law changes they passed. The ad was paid for by Albra’s secretary, Greg Totino.
The plaintiffs are seeking $5 million in damages for not being able to use up to 10 acres of their commercial land, reimbursement of property taxes during the years they couldn’t use their property, and several other sanctions.
