Suit filed over demolition

WATERVLIET A lawsuit filed to stop demolition of St. Patrick's Church comes as the city has issued three permits to raze the church, its rectory and school to make way for a supermarket.

Citizens for St. Patrick's and 20 residents filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City Council claiming it violated city and state laws to rezone the 3-acre church property at 515 19th St. to allow development.

"We are going to stick with this until we have exhausted every effort to preserve St. Patrick's and see the block developed in a way that benefits the community," Christine Bulmer, a spokeswoman for Citizens for St. Patrick's, plaintiff in the case.

The grass-roots organization also has filed a notice of appeal to overturn a judge's Dec. 31 decision to allow the sale of the church property for $1 million.

The lawsuit contends the City Council failed to comply with the city zoning code, the state Environmental Quality Review Act, the state Open Meetings Law and general municipal law when it rezoned the property. The legal papers also claim the council undertook spot zoning when the historic church site was rezoned.

The lawsuit, filed last week, asks state Supreme Court in Albany County to stop any demolition or development at the church site, revoke the rezoning and void the City Council's declaration of negative environmental significance for the property.

Nigro Companies has proposed building a 40,200-square-foot Price Chopper supermarket and two smaller commercial buildings. The City Council voted unanimously in November to approve the rezoning to business from residential that was needed for the project to move ahead.

The two-pronged legal attack did not faze city officials.

"We knew it was coming," Mayor Michael Manning said Monday. "We just got it. Our legal team is looking at it."

City Building Inspector Mark Gilchrist said he issued demolition permits good for six months to demolish the church, rectory and school. He said he did not issue the permits for the three residential duplexes as he did not have documentary evidence that Nigro Companies owns the private residences, which are the northern boundary of the parcel along 23rd Street.

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Suit filed over demolition