FORESTBURGH - An attorney for Lost Lake Holdings, a company that wants to build a housing development in Forestburgh, filed an Article 78 proceeding in State Supreme Court/Sullivan County on Tuesday, alleging that Town Supervisor Daniel Hogue Jr. and Town Clerk Joanne Nagoda unlawfully denied public records that should have been made available under New York State's Freedom of Information Law.
"This special proceeding is necessary because Respondents have inappropriately and unlawfully denied substantial portions of LLH’s New York Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”)
requests filed on March 25, 2022 (the “3/25 FOIL Request”) and April 13, 2022 (the “4/13 FOIL Request,” and together, the “FOIL Requests”), and have failed to produce responsive records by and after the disclosure date set by the Town FOIL Appeals Officer," the petition alleges.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, attorneys for Lost Lake filed a separate lawsuit, alleging that Hogue and the Town unlawfully used monies deposited in an escrow account by Lost Lake to pay attorneys from the law firm Harris Beach to stop the project.
That case - which in part alleges that the town is seeking to deny Hasidic Jews the right to purchase homes there - is pending, along with two other Lost Lake lawsuits which were filed against the Forestburgh Board of Assessors.
The project was first proposed in 2008. As described by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation at the time, the project was intended as "a large-scale destination resort in the Town of Forestburgh, Sullivan County. The Lost Lake Resort project would involve the construction of the following: an 18-hole championship golf course with amenities including clubhouse, inn, restaurant, conference center, spa, amenity village, swimming facilities, tennis facilities, and wilderness trails; 2,557 single family residences, 30 single family cottages, and 40 multi-family units; new private roads; a new central water supply from on-site wells; plus new central sewage treatment system. The project would be constructed on 2,091 acres of currently undeveloped, mostly forested land, of which the sponsor has stated 1,050 acres will be preserved as open space."
The SullivanTimes late Wednesday afternoon reached out to Hogue and Nagoda by email for comment on the latest suit.
"It is the town’s position to not comment on pending litigation," Hogue said in an emailed response.
However, as part of the court filings by Lost Lake, a copy of the determination by Hogue (as the chief FOIL officer) is attached here.
(DEVELOPING STORY)