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Residents challenge town legal filings and accuse leaders of unauthorized legal work
Summary
At the April 22 Red Hook Town Board meeting, multiple residents criticized the supervisor and town legal representation over recent Article 78 filings and urged the board to halt eminent domain actions related to the Red Hook Boat Club; the board took no formal action on those allegations.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the April 22 Town Board meeting to sharply question the Town’s use of outside counsel in ongoing Article 78 litigation concerning the Red Hook Boat Club, accusing town leaders of authorizing filings without board approval and alleging fiscal mismanagement.
Albert Trezza told the board that Keane & Beane filed a motion to extend the Town’s time to perfect an appeal and said Hodgson Russ has submitted court filings, including a letter requesting a court conference, “on behalf of the Town” without a vote by the Board to authorize that representation. Trezza also noted prior recusals by Keane & Beane in other matters and asked whether the town will be billed for unauthorized work.
Rich Ross said opponents of the town’s planned eminent domain acquisition of the boat club suspect Councilmembers William Hamel and Jacob Testa serve as “rubber stamps” for Supervisor Robert McKeon and accused McKeon and others of failing their fiduciary duties. Ross said he understood Hodgson Russ filed a memorandum of law on April 17, 2026 after a filing deadline and that the firm had been ordered to show cause for the late filing.
Other commenters echoed concerns. Teddy Blank said McKeon’s prior claim that a previous Board authorized responses was “false” and described possible ramifications for engaging outside counsel without prior expenditure approval. Roland Page criticized McKeon’s conduct around fencing and communications with neighboring landowners and said he opposed the eminent domain effort; Bonnie Day asked the Board to stop pursuing eminent domain for the Red Hook Boat Club.
Supervisor McKeon and the Board did not take formal action on the public comments during the meeting; no motion to change legal representation or to rescind any engagement was recorded. The concerns raised center on whether Hodgson Russ’s filings in the Article 78 matter fall within the scope of the firm’s engagement for eminent domain work and whether the Board previously voted to authorize the filings. The public commenters requested that the Board clarify and, if necessary, authorize or disallow the firm’s work and any associated expenditures.
The Board’s next steps were not specified on the record; no vote or staff direction about the Article 78 representation was included in the minutes from the April 22 meeting.
