Trump faces another setback in Jones Beach project

A judge has handed developer Donald Trump another setback in his effort to collect $500 million in damages from the state over delays in building his proposed catering hall-restaurant at Jones Beach.

Trump attorney Steven R. Schlesinger said he would appeal Court Of Claims Judge Francis Collins' decision, handed down March 22, not to reconsider his earlier dismissal of Trump's suit to the state Appellate Division. "He's so far wrong that I don't see how an appellate court won't reverse him," Schlesinger said.

The appeal, along with two other unresolved court cases, means Trump on the Ocean won't be built anytime soon at the boardwalk site that has sat empty for six years.

Last July, Collins dismissed the developers' lawsuit, saying they failed to substantiate that the parks agency had acted in bad faith.

In his latest ruling, Collins wrote that Trump's attorneys did not meet criteria for setting aside his earlier ruling by demonstrating that he had overlooked or failed to understand existing laws. After reviewing additional information submitted, Collins said "the court finds that the arguments claimant now makes lack merit."

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation spokeswoman Eileen Larrabee said "this decision confirms, once again, that throughout this process, the agency has acted in good faith and in accordance with the contract."

Ronald J. Rosenberg, an attorney opposed to the project, said, "Collins correctly found that state parks' refusal to issue a permit to Trump, without the necessary variances, was 'required by law.' "

In a second legal matter involving Trump and Jones Beach, arguments were heard last week by an Appellate Division panel in Brooklyn on the state's appeal of a state Supreme Court ruling backing Trump's contention that the state was arbitrary in forcing him to seek a Department of State variance to build a basement in a coastal zone. The variance was denied in 2008. A decision on the appeal is expected in June.

The third case stems from the state's demand last year that Trump and partner Steve Carl pay back rent for the site. They sued and the state is appealing an August ruling by state Supreme Court Justice Ira B. Warshawsky who said the parks department could have granted the developers a building permit for the project in 2007 and threw out the demand for back rent.