Federal Lawsuit Over Zoning For Yehsiva In Airmont Is Settled

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced yesterday the settlement of a lawsuit it filed in 2005 under RLUIPA and the federal Fair Housing Act against the Village of Airmont in Rockland County, New York over its refusal to permit a Hasidic Jewish congregation to build a yeshiva with student housing. Airmont's zoning code prohibits residential student housing anywhere in the village while permitting a variety of other group residential uses. The lawsuit charged that this imposed a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion by Lavier Yakov congregation and amounted to the denial of housing based on religion. Under the consent decree entered in the case, Airmont has agreed to amend its zoning code by Oct. 15 to permit educational institutions with accessory housing and to permit construction of the yeshiva. The village will also pay a $10,000 civil penalty and has agreed to other steps to assure legal compliance in the future. The Lower Hudson Journal News reports that this is the second zoning-related civil rights lawsuit against the village since its founding in 1991. The earlier lawsuit charged that the village was incorporated to prevent Orthodox Jews from moving into the community through zoning laws that prohibited home synagogues. (See prior related posting.)