Chabad of the Beaches Wins First Salvo In Legal Battle For Property

by CrownHeights.info

The first battle in the fight for a property purchased by Chabad of the Beaches in an eminent domain claim by the Village of Atlantic Beach has been won by Chabad.

Federal court judge Joanna Seybert issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 6th halting further action on the eminent domain claim by the village. Such an injunction usually signal that the judge believes that Chabad would likely win the case should it go to trial.

“We hope this decision today encourages the Village of Atlantic Beach to welcome Chabad of the Beaches to its community, rather than spending even more taxpayer dollars to keep them out,” Chabad’s lawyer said.

The case surrounds a property that holds an old bank on Park Street in Atlantic Beach purchased last November by Chabad for $950,000. Following the sale, Atlantic Beach attempted to force Chabad to give up the land to the village to build a lifeguard station with an adjacent property.

The village maintains that it still plans to continue all the way to trial if need be, saying that its plans are purely for the sake of building badly needed community infrastructure.