Suffolk County family sues to stop town from seizing property

Mattituck's development moratorium came after the Brinkmanns filed to build a hardware store

Hank, Ben, and Mary Brinkmann in front of Main Street, Mattituck. (Brinkmann's Hardware, Google Maps)
Hank, Ben and Mary Brinkmann in front of Main Street, Mattituck. (Brinkmann's Hardware, Google Maps)

The Brinkmann family wants to build a hardware store on their property at 12500 Main Road in Mattituck. The problem is, months after the Long Island family submitted their proposal, the Town of Southhold enacted a moratorium on development in that area. It intends to seize the property via eminent domain.

Now, a dispute over that 1.8-acre North Fork property is headed to a federal courthouse, according to Newsday.

The Brinkmanns have filed suit, represented by the Institute of Justice, a Virginia-based nonprofit law firm that has been involved with several high-profile eminent domain cases. The firm represented Vera Coking in a successful fight against a New Jersey agency’s attempt to take her property for the construction of the Trump Casino in Atlantic City.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

In this case, the suit claims Southold lacks “any legitimate reason” to stop the Brinkmanns from building a store. The building permit was filed in June 2019. About eight months later, the town implemented its construction moratorium along that stretch of Main Road, according to the report.

The town wants to create a park on the property.

[Newsday] — Dennis Lynch