Yeshiva Ohr Shraga Veretzky v. Town of Highland Zoning Board of Appeals and Town of Highland

On July 29, 2025, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in Yeshiva Ohr Shraga Veretzky v. Town of Highland Zoning Board of Appeals et al., (S.D.N.Y.) a private lawsuit alleging that the Zoning Board of Appeals and Town violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) by making a final determination that prevented the Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva from engaging in its proposed educational religious use.  The Zoning Board of Appeals and Town had concluded that the Yeshiva’s educational religious use was really a “summer camp,” a use not permitted in the Town. This determination prevented the Yeshiva from developing its proposed religious use anywhere in the Town.  The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss contending that the plaintiff’s claims are not “prudentially ripe,” i.e., the claims are not ready to be heard by the Court, because the plaintiff had not sought a use variance from the Town. The department’s statement of interest refutes this contention, explaining that the plaintiff’s claims are ripe because the Board of Appeals made a final determination that plaintiff’s proposed religious use was not allowed anywhere in the Town and that in such a situation, the Yeshiva was not required to apply for a variance before seeking relief under RLUIPA.