Airmont Seeks To Void Yeshiva Agreement

AIRMONT -- The village will be in federal court next month to attempt to void a settlement with a developer planning to build a yeshiva with housing for students and faculty.

In a split vote, the village board approved the settlement - which gave the congregation the right to present its proposal to the Planning Board - as the village faced the threat of a discrimination lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department.

Then, after the settlement, the government sued the village anyway - that lawsuit continues - because there was no zoning to accommodate such projects.

Mayor John Layne, who signed the settlement with the approval of the then-village board majority, said that he relied on the best legal advice available when he agreed to the settlement.

Two months after the settlement, Layne lost his village board majority, and the new board hired the White Plains law firm to replace the one that had negotiated the settlement.