The Appellate Division, Second Department on Oct. 21 unanimously upheld the Town Board’s decision to take the Red Hook Boat Club’s Hudson River property for a public waterfront park, clearing a major legal hurdle for the Town of Red Hook. The ruling rejected the club’s challenge to the eminent domain move and left in place the July 15, 2025 resolution authorizing the taking.
For readers searching now, the decision matters because it changes the legal footing of a fight that has shaped Red Hook for months. The court found a legitimate public purpose in the plan, saying developing parkland and recreational space, and maintaining open space, are valid public uses. It also concluded that the Town complied with environmental review requirements and explained well enough why the project fit local waterfront policies.
The property at issue includes two adjoining waterfront parcels totaling about 2.37 acres, including 256 Dock Road. The Boat Club has fought the plan through multiple lawsuits, and one earlier case found deficiencies in the Town’s compliance with state environmental review requirements. But the appellate court said the club identified no ground to annul the Town Board’s determination and wrote that the board has broad discretion to decide which land is necessary to carry out its stated purpose.
Richie Ross said the club was frustrated by the outcome and would keep looking at legal options. He said the club was “even more disappointed that a town can wield the extraordinary power of eminent domain without a site plan or proper environmental review,” and added that “actions like this only further divide a small community.” That criticism goes to the heart of the case: the club argued the Town was pressing ahead without the planning and review it believed should come first, but the appellate court accepted the Town’s showing anyway.
The decision does not transfer ownership or set the price. It does, however, keep the Town’s park plan alive and pushes the dispute into the next phase, where the Town will move to purchase the property from the club. State eminent domain law requires that purchase to be completed within three years, and the club’s next move will determine whether the fight shifts from whether the Town can take the land to how far it can still resist the taking.
