Court rules against Nissequogue homeowner in Stony Brook Harbor dock fight
A Nissequogue homeowner may have to modify his plans to build a dock at his property on Stony Brook Harbor after a judge dismissed his lawsuit. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
A judge recently dismissed a lawsuit a Nissequoque homeowner brought against the village, its planning board and a local coastal commission after the rejection of a proposal to build a dock at his property on Stony Brook Harbor.
The village's planning board in part had cited a disruption to a nearby park's “scenic vista” and to pedestrian access at the facility if Andrew Georgakopoulos built a 136-foot aluminum and wood dock extending from his Swan Place property.
Acting State Supreme Court Justice James Quinn wrote in his Dec. 20 decision that those who challenge the act of a government agency “must exhaust available administrative remedies before being permitted to litigate in a court of law.”
But Georgakopoulos' attorney had acknowledged in the lawsuit that “not all of Georgakopoulos' administrative remedies were exhausted,” with the application to the planning board not concluded, according to Quinn's ruling.
Quinn also wrote in his ruling that Georgakopoulos hadn't shown that any of the village's actions were unconstitutional or beyond its power.
Georgakopoulos and his Holbrook attorney, Jacob Turner, of Heilig Branigan LLP, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith said in an interview that the judge's ruling effectively puts the matter back in the hands of Georgakopoulos, who will have to decide how to move forward.
That could include resubmitting modified plans for the dock to the village, according to Smith, who said he hasn't heard if the homeowner is considering such an action.
The mayor said village officials were “very, very pleased” with the court’s decision.
“Stony Brook Harbor is a incredibly wonderful, but keenly important asset to our overall community, and it’s incumbent on us to protect it,” Smith added.
In February 2022, Georgakopoulos applied to the village for the proposed dock.
Georgakopoulos' court papers indicate the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Town of Smithtown had approved his dock application. But it faced stiff opposition on other fronts.
In April 2022, the Joint Village Coastal Management Commission, a board of residents from Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue, found the dock application inconsistent with the communities' water revitalization program.
The program provides a framework for addressing critical waterfront issues and pursuing and implementing planned waterfront improvement projects along Stony Brook Harbor and the Nissequogue River.
In addition, some residents who dubbed the project a “mega dock” opposed it over concerns that it could obstruct beach walkers and harbor vessels at nearby Cordwood Park.
Head of the Harbor resident Lisa Davidson, 60, a coastal commission member, helped mobilize opposition to the project.
Davidson said in an interview that Georgakopoulos’s dock project became “alarming” to residents due to its proposed proximity to the park, with its length potentially posing a problem for kayakers who wanted to enter the water.
“I wasn’t going to just stand by and watch them get their dock,” said Davidson, who organized a “Block the Dock” rally in August 2022 that drew dozens of residents.
That rally spread word of the dock proposal, with about 750 people signing a petition against the dock, she said.
In January 2023, the planning board denied Georgakopoulos’s application.
Georgakopoulos’ attorney had argued in part that the planning board in 1993 had approved construction of a 140-foot dock at a property next to Georgakopoulos’ boathouse, and also allowed that dock to be rebuilt in 2000 and 2014.
But planning officials said in their 2023 decision that harbor conditions had changed in the decades since that dock was approved, and Georgakopoulos’s proposed dock was much closer to the park.
Planning officials added that previous board members' approval of the other Swan Place dock was an “error,” and they would decline “to perpetuate that error by repeating it.”
A judge recently dismissed a lawsuit a Nissequoque homeowner brought against the village, its planning board and a local coastal commission after the rejection of a proposal to build a dock at his property on Stony Brook Harbor.
The village's planning board in part had cited a disruption to a nearby park's “scenic vista” and to pedestrian access at the facility if Andrew Georgakopoulos built a 136-foot aluminum and wood dock extending from his Swan Place property.
Acting State Supreme Court Justice James Quinn wrote in his Dec. 20 decision that those who challenge the act of a government agency “must exhaust available administrative remedies before being permitted to litigate in a court of law.”
But Georgakopoulos' attorney had acknowledged in the lawsuit that “not all of Georgakopoulos' administrative remedies were exhausted,” with the application to the planning board not concluded, according to Quinn's ruling.
Quinn also wrote in his ruling that Georgakopoulos hadn't shown that any of the village's actions were unconstitutional or beyond its power.
Georgakopoulos and his Holbrook attorney, Jacob Turner, of Heilig Branigan LLP, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith said in an interview that the judge's ruling effectively puts the matter back in the hands of Georgakopoulos, who will have to decide how to move forward.
That could include resubmitting modified plans for the dock to the village, according to Smith, who said he hasn't heard if the homeowner is considering such an action.
The mayor said village officials were “very, very pleased” with the court’s decision.
“Stony Brook Harbor is a incredibly wonderful, but keenly important asset to our overall community, and it’s incumbent on us to protect it,” Smith added.
In February 2022, Georgakopoulos applied to the village for the proposed dock.
Georgakopoulos' court papers indicate the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Town of Smithtown had approved his dock application. But it faced stiff opposition on other fronts.
In April 2022, the Joint Village Coastal Management Commission, a board of residents from Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue, found the dock application inconsistent with the communities' water revitalization program.
The program provides a framework for addressing critical waterfront issues and pursuing and implementing planned waterfront improvement projects along Stony Brook Harbor and the Nissequogue River.
In addition, some residents who dubbed the project a “mega dock” opposed it over concerns that it could obstruct beach walkers and harbor vessels at nearby Cordwood Park.
Head of the Harbor resident Lisa Davidson, 60, a coastal commission member, helped mobilize opposition to the project.
Davidson said in an interview that Georgakopoulos’s dock project became “alarming” to residents due to its proposed proximity to the park, with its length potentially posing a problem for kayakers who wanted to enter the water.
“I wasn’t going to just stand by and watch them get their dock,” said Davidson, who organized a “Block the Dock” rally in August 2022 that drew dozens of residents.
That rally spread word of the dock proposal, with about 750 people signing a petition against the dock, she said.
In January 2023, the planning board denied Georgakopoulos’s application.
Georgakopoulos’ attorney had argued in part that the planning board in 1993 had approved construction of a 140-foot dock at a property next to Georgakopoulos’ boathouse, and also allowed that dock to be rebuilt in 2000 and 2014.
But planning officials said in their 2023 decision that harbor conditions had changed in the decades since that dock was approved, and Georgakopoulos’s proposed dock was much closer to the park.
Planning officials added that previous board members' approval of the other Swan Place dock was an “error,” and they would decline “to perpetuate that error by repeating it.”
