Patterson

The future of the Patterson Town Court is now up in the air!

By a 3-2 vote last week, the Town Board rejected a proposal for the construction of a $3 million courthouse adjacent to the Patterson Town Hall off Route 311 and, by doing so, ended three years of planning and $900,000 spent on the process.

Supervisor Michael Griffin and Councilman Ed O’Connor voted to proceed with the plans, while Council members Ginny Nacerino, Ernest Kassay, and Joseph Capasso were opposed, citing difficult economic times.

Patterson Justice John King attended the meeting and criticized the board for failing to consult with him and Patterson Judge Roger Tricinelli, who was not at the session due to illness. “While I understand the board’s approach due to the tough economy, I wish the council would have discussed the matter with Judge Tricinelli and me. A new courthouse is not a luxury. It is a necessity,” he told the board and an audience of some 50 people attending the meeting.

King urged the board to begin working on a new solution. “August 2010 will be here before we know it and the Patterson Library has plans to renovate the current court room space once our lease expires next August 31,” he said.

Library officials predicted demolition will commence on the current Patterson Court next September 1.

Supervisor Griffin said the board would vote at its September 9 meeting to reject the 35 bids received by the town for the new courthouse.

Griffin was stymied by the board’s decision. He said plans to rent space for a town court complex at the Robin Hill Corporate Park off Route 22, as well as other facilities, made “little sense. Landlords don’t want to extend a lease past five years, which for a municipality is just plain silly. Parking is a main concern, since any facility must contain parking for a minimum of 80 vehicles, and none of the properties under consideration comes close to that number.”

The town also investigated the possibility of locating the Patterson Court in the new Putnam County Courthouse in Carmel. Legislator Mary Conklin, who represents constituents in the greater Patterson area, contacted the Hon. Alan Scheinkman, Administrative Judge of the 9th Judicial District, requesting his advice and input on the matter.

The judge explained that New York State Law provides that a “justice court can hold court anywhere in the municipality, but a town court may sit in an adjacent town only if the two towns have agreed to unify their town courts.”

Since the Putnam County Courthouse is located in Carmel, and Carmel and Patterson Courts are not unified, the judge said “it does not appear that the Patterson Justice Court may lawfully hold sessions in Carmel, including the Putnam County Courthouse.”

Both Judges King and Tricinelli are adamantly opposed to the suggestion. “Patterson, Carmel, and Southeast are three of the busiest courts in the county. Why would the courts want to become unified? It makes no sense,” said Judge King.

For years, officials have said a new courthouse in Patterson would solve a space crunch for both the court and the Patterson Library. which currently share the Donald Smith building on Route 311. The library purchased the building from the town in 2007 and rents court space to the municipality. Plans call for the library to expand next summer.

Griffin said his board’s decision has also resulted in the loss of a $1 million grant from the State Dormitory Authority for the new courthouse.

–Eric Gross