THIRD LAWSUIT BROUGHT AGAINST VILLAGE FOR RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
The Village of Airmont, in Rockland County, New York, recently agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. government under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
The litigation claimed that in 2018, the village had revised its zoning law in a manner which discriminated against its Orthodox Jewish residents and hindered worship in their homes.
Among other things, the law limited the number of people that could be invited into their residences to pray, and imposed an “arbitrary, drawn-out application process designed to delay and effectively deny permits for even minor alterations to private houses.” Pursuant to the Consent Decree (filed October 19, 2023), those restrictions and hurdles have now been eliminated.
Interestingly, since 1991, this is the third lawsuit brought against the village by the United States Department of Justice predicated upon some form of discrimination against the Orthodox Jewish community.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division noted in a statement that “Zoning laws that intentionally make it more difficult to engage in religious worship and that are designed to impair the rights of obstruct religious communities violate federal law …. This settlement should send a message to officials across the country that we will hold them accountable when they abuse zoning restrictions to stop religious communities from freely exercising their faith. The Justice Department will tirelessly defend the right of all faiths and religions to worship in the manner consistent with their religious beliefs and traditions.”
Is it time for Airmont to clear the air, or what?
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