Hello All,
This morning Judge Furfure granted a temporary stay on the Prattsburgh condemnations. John Leyden, representing Prattsburgh, had gone to court in Bath, asking the judge to give the final approval on the procedures followed by the town for acquiring the easements through condemnation. The lawyer for the condemnees, Derek Brocklebank, asked the judge to stay the condemnations pending the ruling of the appellate court.
As you know, the condemnees have filed an appeal of the condemnations. The appellate court will be hearing the appeal of the condemnees in mid to late fall and only if the appellate court rules against the condemnees will the stay be lifted.
This is excellent news for us because if she had not granted the stay it would have meant that the company could have filed the papers and maps and started work tomorrow. And it's always harder to undo a project once it has begun.
It was high drama in the courtroom as John Leyden made an impassioned plea to the judge to ignore the request for a stay. But she seemed to really understand that if she ignored the request for a stay that it would allow the company to start work on the project before the Appellate court hears the condemnees' appeal.
It's been a good week in the press, too. Attached is a copy of the article that appeared in the New York Times yesterday. It's been very hard to get the Times to pay attention to this issue --this article was overdue but gratifying nonetheless.
And I know I sound like a broken record, but please, if you can donate money to the legal fund, or you know someone who you think might donate, or even if there's someone that you don't know personally but you think s/he would care about this issue -- please ask for donations so that the legal battle can continue. Checks can be mailed to Advocates for Prattsburgh, Box 221, Prattsburgh, NY 14873.
Ruth Matilsky
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