by Lynne Jackson

ALBANY: On March 23, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Judicial Department heard Save the Pine Bush’s appeal of the dismissal of our case against the Town of Guilderland and Pyramid over the proposed apartments, Costco and office buildings.

Todd Ommen, of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic argued for Save the Pine Bush. The main argument was that the issues Save the Pine Bush raised in our case in Supreme Court have never been heard.

Residents in the Town of Guilderland had also sued over the proposed developments. Property and business issues were raised in their lawsuit. Though the residents won in Supreme Court, their win was overturned by the Appellate Division. In our lawsuit, we raised issues regarding preserving the Pine Bush and threatened and endangered species. The Supreme Court dismissed our case last October citing the loss of the neighbors’ case. We appealed because none of our issues had been heard by the court.

The Pine Bush ecosystem is being destroyed by developments one acre at a time. What will our grandchildren ask us – why we have one less gas station on Western Avenue or why there are no more Karner Blue butterflies? We hope the court will side with us. A decision may be made in the next couple of months.