A rendering of the 176-unit Glen Cove development near downtown,...

A rendering of the 176-unit Glen Cove development near downtown, known as The Villa, is seen here. Credit: Danielle Finkelstein

Glen Cove officials are proposing to hire a Uniondale-based law firm to defend the city in a lawsuit that aims to block construction of The Villa, a luxury condominium complex near downtown.

The city planning board last Tuesday night approved an amended site plan for the 176-unit, six-building project on Glen Cove Avenue. Dan Livingston, owner of Queens-based developer Livingston Development Corp., said he hopes to begin construction in the summer.

The City Council is scheduled to vote tomorrow on whether to approve a retainer agreement to pay the Sahn Ward Coschignano law firm $190 an hour, city attorney Charles McQuair said Wednesday. Oyster Bay town board member Chris Coschignano is a partner in the firm.

In January, two residents of a house on a hill above the project site, Roni Epstein and Marsha Silverman, sued the city in State Supreme Court in Nassau County. They allege city officials did not perform adequate environmental reviews and did not follow legally mandated procedures.

The lawsuit asks the court to annul the council’s December 2015 approval of “density bonuses” that allow Livingston to build more than double the number of units otherwise allowed. Silverman said Tuesday night that a new complaint would be filed seeking to annul the planning board’s site-plan approval.

The lawsuit asks for court injunctions to block the city from processing any application associated with the project and bar construction on the site until the court makes a ruling on the allegations in the suit.

Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports. Credit: Ed Murray, Jonathan Singh

'I had to keep my mouth shut'  Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.

Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports. Credit: Ed Murray, Jonathan Singh

'I had to keep my mouth shut'  Ronnie Tanner, a horse jockey in the '60s and '70s, and Kendrick Carmouche, a current jockey, spoke about the racism Black jockeys have faced. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.

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