Suffern, NY - Federal Government Sues Village for Denying Variance to Jewish Group

Suffern, NY - The federal government alleged Tuesday that the village of Suffern discriminated against a group of Orthodox Jews when it denied a zoning variance for a "Shabbos House" that made it easier to get to a hospital without violating a religious law against driving on Shabbas.

In a lawsuit filed in White Plains, the government said that in denying the variance, the Rockland County village was violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. It requested an injunction against enforcement of any village laws that would burden the group's religious practice. "This lawsuit enforces Congress' determination that local zoning regulations must give way when they unlawfully burden religious exercise," U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said.

Terry Rice, attorney for the village, said that while he had not yet seen the lawsuit, the group that requested the variance "did not claim it was a religious use." "The village had no choice but to deny" the variance, he said.
The lawsuit says that from 1988 to 2004, Bikur Cholim Inc. provided meals and lodging for Orthodox Jews on Shabbas and other holy days in a Shabbos House on the grounds of Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern. That allowed the Jews to visit and transport patients, or be admitted or discharged themselves, without having to violate Shabbas laws against driving, using electricity and exchanging money, the lawsuit says.
In 2004, Bikur Cholim moved across the street from the hospital, into what Rice said was a newly built house in an area zoned for single-family homes. The village denied a building permit and a zoning variance that would have allowed use of the house by 14 people, the lawsuit says.