A Shelter Island resident is suing the town over what he says is a “harassment campaign” against him and claims the town treated a local nonprofit better for allowing Beyoncé to film parts of his film and his musical album “Black is King” on his property.
Michael Gaynor filed Section 78 proceedings against the city, city council and the Community Preservation Fund advisory board electronically in the state Supreme Court on September 22, alleging he had been targeted for clearing non-native trees on his property.
A section 78 proceeding is a request to judges to overturn or stay government action, in this case FOIL denials. Some of Gaynor’s harassment allegations include that the city illegally refused Freedom of Information Act requests in August and issued a code violation in January which he said was subsequently evicted.
Additionally, Gaynor, 55, alleges that the city allowed Beyoncé to film scenes from “Black is King” at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, a former plantation and the site of a slave cemetery, without a permit in 2019. The album premiered on July 31 to July 31. the Disney + streaming service. According to an email included as evidence in the case, no permit was issued for the filming.
“You are mistreated by the city and the neighbors, you receive bogus violations, and your neighbor can do whatever he wants,” Gaynor’s lawyer in Sag Harbor, Alex Kriegman, said. “He finds the nature of what happened there very unpleasant.”
Gaynor is looking for answers to his inquiries and other damages.
Richard Zuckerman, an attorney with Melville Lamb & Barnosky LLP, which represents the city, said officials were not aware of the shooting until it was written in a local newspaper this summer. Instead, he said Gaynor’s complaints stem from the Sept. 17 decision by the city’s Community Preservation Fund advisory board not to purchase development rights to a property he owned.
“This case was filed because the city refused his request to pay $ 2 million to buy him a property that the city did not want at that price,” Zuckerman said. “Everything stems from there.”
Disney bought the film after production, so it would not have authority over the set. Representatives for Beyoncé could not be reached for comment.
Sylvester Manor in an August Instagram post said he was proud the mansion was part of the national conversation on black history.
“We believe Beyonce chose our site understanding the cultures that lived and worked together at Sylvester Manor and the importance they played in the manor’s nearly 400-year history,” the report reads. article.
A Shelter Island resident is suing the town over what he says is a “harassment campaign” against him and claims the town treated a local nonprofit better for allowing Beyoncé to film parts of his film and his musical album “Black is King” on his property.
Michael Gaynor filed Section 78 proceedings against the city, city council and the Community Preservation Fund advisory board electronically in the state Supreme Court on September 22, alleging he had been targeted for clearing non-native trees on his property.
A section 78 proceeding is a request to judges to overturn or stay government action, in this case FOIL denials. Some of Gaynor’s harassment allegations include that the city illegally refused Freedom of Information Act requests in August and issued a code violation in January which he said was subsequently evicted.
Additionally, Gaynor, 55, alleges that the city allowed Beyoncé to film scenes from “Black is King” at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, a former plantation and the site of a slave cemetery, without a permit in 2019. The album premiered on July 31 to July 31. the Disney + streaming service. According to an email included as evidence in the case, no permit was issued for the filming.
“You are mistreated by the city and the neighbors, you receive bogus violations, and your neighbor can do whatever he wants,” Gaynor’s lawyer in Sag Harbor, Alex Kriegman, said. “He finds the nature of what happened there very unpleasant.”
Gaynor is looking for answers to his inquiries and other damages.
Richard Zuckerman, an attorney with Melville Lamb & Barnosky LLP, which represents the city, said officials were not aware of the shooting until it was written in a local newspaper this summer. Instead, he said Gaynor’s complaints stem from the Sept. 17 decision by the city’s Community Preservation Fund advisory board not to purchase development rights to a property he owned.
“This case was filed because the city refused his request to pay $ 2 million to buy him a property that the city did not want at that price,” Zuckerman said. “Everything stems from there.”
Disney bought the film after production, so it would not have authority over the set. Representatives for Beyoncé could not be reached for comment.
Sylvester Manor in an August Instagram post said he was proud the mansion was part of the national conversation on black history.
“We believe Beyonce chose our site understanding the cultures that lived and worked together at Sylvester Manor and the importance they played in the manor’s nearly 400-year history,” the report reads. article.