Huntington
– The Town of Huntington, alongside the Northport-East Northport School
District, called on LIPA to pause all pending litigations
regarding the Northport Power Plant in light of the extreme disruption
the Coronavirus pandemic has had and will have on the health and welfare
of the Town of Huntington, severely impacted as a primary hotspot for
the national public health and economic crisis,
in a letter dated April 22, 2020; LIPA rejected this request in a letter
dated April 23, 2020.
“It’s
astonishing LIPA does not recognize that this global health crisis and
its severe and unprecedented economic impact necessitates a
change in posture,” said Town Attorney Nicholas Ciappetta.
Ciappetta, at the direction of the Huntington Town Board, sent a letter
to attorneys for LIPA on April 22, 2020, “respectfully request[ing] that
your client agree to a stipulation delaying any proceedings pending
before the New York State Supreme Court and the New York State Supreme
Court, Appellate Division until at least July
1, 2022.”
After
laying out very serious concerns related to the Coronavirus pandemic's
impact on the economy, the loss of tax revenues to all levels
of government and educational agencies, and the severe consequences of
such stretching into at least 2022, Ciappetta argued:
"While
this parade of horribles will be visited upon every school district in
the State of New York, the Northport-East Northport School
District faces an added threat in the pending tax certiorari litigation
that hangs over its head like the proverbial sword of Damocles. While it
will be extremely difficult for the School District to sustain its
programs and staffing in response the loss of
state aid due to the pandemic, it would be impossible for the School
District to simultaneously adjust to an unfavorable decision from the
Supreme Court, or even the most favorable settlement agreement. In blunt
terms, the combination of two such extraordinary
events would leave the School District unrecognizable in the short term
and devastated for years to come.
"Lastly,
it is important to note that LIPA is a corporate municipal entity of
the State of New York under New York Public Authorities Law
§ 1020(c). Public entities such as LIPA have a unique civic
responsibility that set them apart from corporate entities and a moral
obligation to avoid acts that would devastate communities such as the
Northport-East Northport School District and the Town of
Huntington. A court ordered judgment or settlement resulting in a
substantial tax increase in the midst of a global public health crisis
would simply be unconscionable.
"For
all these reasons, the Town of Huntington, like the Northport-East
Northport School District, firmly believes that these extraordinary
times call for a pause in the pending litigations regarding the
Northport Power Plant."
Attorneys for LIPA rejected the request in a letter
dated April 23, 2020.
“While
LIPA’s attorneys cite other settlements for smaller plants, which are
nowhere near being apples-to-apples comparisons to our case,
and ‘fairness for all ratepayers’ as their motives in pursuing this
lawsuit,” said Town Attorney Ciappetta, “there is no guarantee that
there would be any reduction in their customers’ bills if the outcome of
these cases were to favor LIPA and one of LIPA’s
trustees is even on record saying the savings for customers island-wide
would only be at most a $1 dollar bill reduction.”
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