Long Island Business News
Judge upholds Syosset mall
By David Winzelberg
June 10, 2008

State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Spinner has ordered the Town of Oyster Bay to issue a special use permit to Taubman Centers, a move that gives its proposed, and long debated, shopping mall in Syosset a green light.

In a scathing and detailed 30-page decision, Judge Spinner criticized the town for engaging in “conduct calculated to, and which actually did, impair, impede and defeat” the mall project, first proposed 13 years ago. The judge also ordered Taubman to submit a revised site plan for a 750,000-square-foot mall proposed for the 39-acre former Cerro Wire property.

While the town will likely appeal, the court retained jurisdiction on the mall approval and ordered both parties back to court in 90 days to report to Spinner on the project's progress.

The decision was the latest in a series of rulings that have favored Taubman.

“The court has now definitively ruled that there is no legal basis for the town to further delay the mall,” said Steve Kieras, Taubman’s senior vice president of development. “We’re very pleased with the judge’s ruling and are prepared to begin construction on the Mall at Oyster Bay pending the town complying with the court’s decision.”

Oyster Bay officials could not be reached for comment.

Anchor tenants for the new $500 million mall will be Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus and Barney’s, according to a Taubman statement. The company said more than 3,000 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs would be created by the project.

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