Muttontown Seeks Extension to Reply to Residents’ Motions to Intervene

The village of Muttontown, New York, and its various component boards, defendants in AT&T’s lawsuit to allow construction of a 165-foot-tall cell tower (see 2211150040), seek a deadline extension to Dec. 30 to respond to two motions to intervene filed by 30 resident property owners seeking to block the tower, said their letter motion Wednesday to U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Dunst for Eastern New York in Central Islip. The property owners plan to seek leave to file reply briefs, said the letter. The village is not opposed, so long as the reply briefs do not “materially delay the resolution of the intervention motions,” it said. Though permitting reply briefs is for the court to decide, the parties conferred and agree the briefs should be filed by Jan. 16, it said. The earliest possible date for in-person oral argument on the motions to intervene would be the week of Jan. 30, said the letter. The property owners say they worry AT&T is conspiring behind their backs with village officials to build the tower over the objections of the local zoning board of appeals. AT&T denies those allegations.