Harriman, NY - Village Scores Victory in Annexation Fight

Harriman, NY - The village has won a big round in its fight to annex 8.5 acres from the Town of Monroe to foster construction of a senior-citizen complex with 189 apartments, near the intersection of Route 17 and 17M and the Silver Maples trailer park.   

An appeals-court panel weighing the annexation dispute between Harriman and Monroe has decided that the need to build affordable housing for seniors outweighed the town's preference for commercial development.    
Two judges and a lawyer serving on the Appellate Division panel issued a report recommending that the court allow Harriman to annex the property, as requested by New City developer American Senior Communities LLC.   
The developer arguing that Harriman could provide services, such as police protection and water, better than Monroe.   The village supported the request, but Monroe officials protested that they would lose commercially zoned property that might otherwise attract tax-paying businesses. That sent the matter to the Appellate Division.   

A court panel that heard oral arguments in July has rejected the town's commercial concerns, noting that no businesses have wanted the property so far and that the enormous Harriman Commons shopping center is already giving the town a huge influx of rateable's.