The last legal hurdle in the fight over Nursery Field was crossed last month when a judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the artificial turf installed there.
The decision brings the contentious saga to a close as a judge found that the Rye City Council, the city building inspector, and city Board of Appeals properly assessed potential environmental and health hazards of the artificial turf installation project, and were rightfully the lead agencies responsible to oversee the plans, according to the Westchester County Supreme Court ruling dated May 19.
“I was very happy with the judge’s decision,” said Mayor Josh Cohn. “I am hopeful that in its breadth the decision satisfies the concerns of those who brought suit.”
The petitioners – the local Friends of Nursery Field group and 11 of its members – argued the City Council improperly declared itself to be the lead agency and ignored data from opponents of the project. They also sought to overturn Building Inspector Guy Carpenito’s ruling that the field isn’t subject to local zoning codes and requested an order for the city to comply with their Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, according to the initial filing.
The judge didn’t agree, however, ruling that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support those claims.
The Nursery Field project on Milton Road served as a lightning rod of contention in the Rye community for years.
The City Council began seriously deliberating whether to replace the field’s grass with artificial synthetic turf back in 2023, which drew both support and pushback – before ultimately voting to move forward with the $2.9 million donor group-funded project.
Supporters argued the poor drainage at Nursery Field left it unavailable for long periods of time after heavy rains, while opponents raised concerns about potential negative environmental impacts with the use of synthetic turf.
The Friends of Nursery Field sued the city in April 2024 over the plan, including filing an injunction to halt the project. If the judge had granted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction, then the city would have had to immediately stop advancement on the turf project until the full lawsuit had been vetted by the court.
But that portion of the lawsuit was dismissed back in September when the judge said the plaintiffs largely failed to address shortcomings in the environmental review process — allowing the project to continue.
“It sounds to me like the court made the right decision,” Republican Councilman Bill Henderson, who is running for mayor, said following the September ruling.
Meanwhile, the turf has since been rolled out, and the field opened to area sports teams beginning in late April. Cohn said there is still ongoing landscaping work being done at Nursery Field, but added that the city is planning a formal opening soon.
“It is delightful to see the use it is getting, even in the wet weather we have been having,” he said.
