Village of Airmont, NY Case

Welcome to Airmont, NY, a village born in bigotry

The New York Times and others have documented Airmont’s infamous, 30-year history of discrimination. The Village of Airmont incorporated in 1991, and its discriminatory zoning policies have been the subject of civil rights lawsuits spanning five different presidential administrations.  The same year of its inception, President George H.W. Bush’s then-Attorney General of the United States William P. Barr filed suit against Airmont for religious discrimination against the Orthodox community.

That lawsuit was resolved in 1995 during the Clinton administration when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded, “there was evidence that the events leading to the incorporation of the town and the implementation of its zoning code ‘amply support a finding that the impetus [to form the town and implement the Code] was not a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason but rather an animosity toward Orthodox Jews as a group.”

Another federal lawsuit against Airmont, filed in 2005, ended with a Consent Decree in which the Village promised the federal government that it would not use zoning laws to disrupt the religious exercise of the Orthodox Jewish community.

Since that Consent Decree expired in 2011, the Village has returned to its discriminatory practices.

Despite federal courts repeatedly penalizing Airmont, city officials continue its policy of government enforced religious discrimination.

Zoning used against peaceful worship

Orthodox Judaism prohibits believers from driving on the Sabbath or on holidays.  That is why worshippers gather in small numbers in homes that are within walking distance of one another.  The religious residents of Airmont simply want to be left alone to peacefully worship and coexist without fear of criminal punishment.  Unfortunately, it appears that city officials in Airmont have returned to their old ways of discrimination against the Jewish community.

Residents forced to ask the permission of village officials to use their home for worship are put through a substantially burdensome process.  The application process devised by village officials forces residents to spend tens of thousands of dollars and several years to complete.

“Airmont’s actions are undeniably a burden on the religious exercise of our clients,” said Keisha Russell, Associate Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “The First Amendment and federal law protect the right of Americans to pray together in their homes free from unreasonable and intrusive government interference like we’ve seen in Airmont.”

First Liberty client, Rabbi David Ribiat, has paid more than $40,000 in related fees during a two-and-a-half-year process that has included multiple delays with no resolution. Earlier this year, Rabbi Moishe Berger, also represented by First Liberty, faced the prospect of a year in jail for simply welcoming his neighbors into his home for prayer.

For several months, First Liberty investigated a number of potentially illegal practices of the Village, which lead to the filing of a lawsuit.

Despite repeated efforts by the United States Department of Justice and the courts over the past 30 years, Airmont officials have used local zoning laws to deny Orthodox Jewish residents their constitutional right to pray together in their homes.

“Thirty years of religious bigotry are enough,” Hiram Sasser, General Counsel of First Liberty Institute said.  “The Orthodox Jewish community of Airmont just wants to be left alone to peacefully worship and coexist but Airmont officials are openly hostile.”

In December 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed its own lawsuit against the Village.

Then, in March of 2021, DOJ  announced the entry of a Consent Order of Preliminary Injunction requiring that the Village immediately cease enforcement of zoning code provisions adopted in 2018.  A settlement with the Village was reached in 2023.