Commander Concedes

by David Flint
Howard Commander has conceded to the vacating and annulling of the Stephentown Zoning Board’s recent action which had granted him a variance to build a Motocross sports park adjacent to his Lebanon Valley Speedway. Appearing last Friday before Judge Roger McDonough in State Supreme Court at the Courthouse in Troy, Commander’s attorney, Frank Roche, agreed to abide by a preliminary injunction that was to be drawn up which would halt any work on the park until such time as proper permits are granted by the Town of Stephentown. Judge McDonough’s ruling follows the filing of an Article 78 proceeding filed against the Zoning Board last week by attorney Lewis B. Oliver joined by the Village of East Nassau and residents of Stephentown and New Lebanon. Oliver charged that the Zoning Board had failed to follow State and Town law and regulations in multiple instances in their deliberations on granting the zoning variance.
If Commander wishes to proceed with his plans for the Motocross park he will have to return to the Stephentown Zoning Board of Appeals and start from scratch. A call to Commander inquiring as whether he intends to pursue the matter further was not returned by press time.