Thursday, April 18, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
By JIMMY LAWTON OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg City Council has agreed to pay Step by Step Inc. $150,000 to settle an ongoing discrimination lawsuit brought against the city last year. The suit centered …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
By JIMMY LAWTON
OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg City Council has agreed to pay Step by Step Inc. $150,000 to settle an ongoing discrimination lawsuit brought against the city last year.
The suit centered around Ogdensburg's denial of a zoning request in May 2015. Step by Step Inc. sued the city of Ogdensburg in federal court, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
On Monday the city council agreed to pay $150,000 to end the lawsuit. Half of the amount, $75,000, will be covered by the city's insurance.
City Manager Sarah Purdy said she was unsure how much the city has spent on legal fees and attorney costs throughout the dispute. The city was represented by Sugarman Law Firm, Syracuse.
“The city and Step by Step, Inc., have deemed it mutually beneficial to settle the suit without further litigation and without a finding or admission of error by the city,” the resolution said.
The controversy began when Step by Step had sought to rezone the former Lincoln Elementary School, which it had recently purchased from Ogdensburg School District.
That effort was met with backlash from the public for a variety of reasons including fear of reduced property values.
Over the course of several public hearings residents in the neighborhood and clients of Step by Step made arguments to the city council about the proposed change.
In the end the city denied the request with no explanation.
At the time Step by Step, Inc. attorney Carlo de Oliveira alleged that bigotry played a role in the council’s decision to deny the zoning change. He said the controversial zoning change was focused on the fact that people with mental health issues would be visiting the property and that is not a valid reason to deny a zoning change.
A judge agreed with De Oliveira, issuing an order to the city in April that required the city to approve the request. Since then Step by Step has had the ability to use the school
Step by Step Director David Bayne did not wish to comment on the matter.
Mayor Wayne Ashley initially said he did not wish to comment on the lawsuit because it is still ongoing, but did say he was glad to see the matter coming to a close.
