In Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhoods v. Village of Chestnut Ridge, New York, (SD NY, Sept. 30, 2022), a New York federal district court dismissed for lack of standing a suit by a civic organization and Village residents alleging that the Village's new zoning code violated the Establishment Clause by favoring one religious group, Orthodox Jews. The Code created new categories of religious uses and houses of worship, including "residential gathering places" so that single-family homes could be opened for religious activities, subject to additional parking requirements. This facilitated small-scale worship services often used by Orthodox Jews who for religious reasons cannot drive on the Sabbath and holidays. The court said in part:
Plaintiffs claim the new zoning amendments “target religious uses with special favorable treatment over secular uses.” (Id.) However, Plaintiffs have not identified any injury, nonetheless a particularized and concrete one. The law is clear that generalized grievance is insufficient to establish standing....
Individual Plaintiffs claim they have direct exposure standing because the New Zoning Law was rushed into law and gives preferential treatment to OJC and religious uses over secular uses, such that “the construction of an untold number of houses of worship” will serve as “constant reminders of the law and its endorsement of religion.” ... This is an insufficient basis ... for finding direct exposure standing....
