City and Wainwright House Win Article 78 Proceeding Brought by Milton Point Neighbors

The City of Rye and the non-profit Wainwright House have won the Article 78 proceeding brought by five of the non-profits’ Milton Point neighbors. This is the second recent failed attempt by the neighbors to scuttle outdoor events at Wainwright, an essential income stream that supports the group’s operations. In the earlier suit, dismissed this past April, the neighbors had claimed deed covenants dating back to the 1800s prevent alcohol sales on the property.

“Wainwright House hopes that the neighbors will respond to the decision by easing off on their opposition to the pending 20-year permit application, as their arguments have already been systematically dismantled,” said Wainwright House Board of Trustees President and Treasurer Bob Manheimer. “Wainwright House will continue to prioritize being a good neighbor and offering the community a robust program offering and access to its unique space on Milton Harbor.”

The loss of either of the recent lawsuits could have been an existential threat to the non-profit. The non-profit told the Court in the recent case “[a] significant portion of [their] annual revenues derive from hosted weddings and cultural events in its seasonal tent”. Wainwright is scheduled to be before the Planning Commission this coming Tuesday evening to seek a twenty year renewal of its application to hold outdoor events on its five acre property.

In the litigation, originally filed just before Christmas in 2021, the five neighbors insisted the City’s Planning Commission, run by Chair Nick Everett, did not follow proper procedures when renewing Wainwright’s application to hold outdoor events including weddings. Acting Supreme Court Justice Robert Prisco, in his decision and order issued on Thursday, concluded the neighbors “have failed to demonstrate that the 2021 Resolutions were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, in violation of a lawful procedure, or affected by an error of law”.

The Wainwright neighbors on Milton Point remain displeased.

“The court did no real thinking on the major issue which was to rule “If Wainwright is a religious institution?”,” said Robert Alexander, one of the five neighbors who brought the suit. He and his wife Libby live adjacent to Wainwright. “The court just said this is a settled issue because in 2011 and 2015 the city said Wainwright was a religious institution. The court punted and decided not to decide.”

“Any person not connected to this case would look at the programming at Wainwright and say what goes on at Wainwright is what you would commonly see at a community center and is not a religious institution. But the court decided not to even make their own decision and just took the city opinion the Wainwright qualifies as a religious institution. Disappointing that that court took years to basically do nothing.”

The other neighbors who joined with the Alexanders in the suit are Mundinger, Rosenstad/Lubowitz, Kelly/Brody and Galantic.

“I am pleased that the positions of our Planning Commission and Wainwright House were upheld,” said Rye Mayor Josh Cohn.

City of Rye Planning Commission Chair Nick Everett declined comment on the decision.

Read the court’s decision.

Note: the comment from Robert Alexander was clarified and re-stated Friday afternoon.