Gracemere developer accuses Tarrytown of fraudulently blocking project

A Hawthorne construction company is demanding the removal from public office of a Tarrytown official who is allegedly impeding a housing development in the village.

Gracemere Partners, an affiliate of ZappiCo Real Estate Development, accused Tarrytown and village engineer Donato R. Pennella of fraud, in a complaint filed Oct. 6 in Westchester Supreme Court.

Pennella has a personal vendetta against Gracemere, according to the complaint, and his conduct includes “a violation of a public trust.”

Pennella did not immediately reply to a message asking for his side of the story.

Village Administrator Richard Slingerland said in an email that Tarrytown has no comment while the matter is in active litigation, “except to say that we will be responding to it through the legal court process.”

The proposed housing project is on part of a large tract of land once owned by the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, also known as the Unification Church or informally as the Moonies for church founder Sun Myung Moon.

In the 1970s, the church bought about 400 acres in Greenburgh, Irvington and Tarrytown.

In 2014, Tarrytown approved an application for a housing subdivision on 46.6 acres near Taxter Ridge scenic preserve. The proposed Jardim Estates East project included nine residential lots, two open spaces, a road, and another open space to be deeded to the Town of Greenburgh for a public park.

Last year, Gracemere Partners, led by James Zappi, bought four lots around Upper Gracemere Lake. Two other ZappiCo affiliates and another company bought the other parcels.

ZappiCo’s website is promoting plans for six yet-to-be built custom-designed homes on Gracemere Road, ranging from $1.5 million to $3.5 million.

The church had not done much work when the company bought the property, according to the complaint, and the buyers relied on the subdivision plan to provide “a clear path forward.”

In 2014, the village had also approved a construction plan that included 37 conditions. All of the condition have either been addressed, the complaint states, or are not required to be addressed until later stages of the project.

Gracemere “was entitled to proceed with the project without having to start over,” Dobbs Ferry attorney Andrew Chan argues in the complaint, “and Tarrytown was obligated to issue building permits … for all work necessary to complete the subdivision project.”

Instead, Gracemere claims, village officials would only honor the 2014 approvals if the developer accepted responsibility for maintenance of roads outside of the subdivision.

Gracemere accused the village of breach of contract, and interference with construction contracts and prospective deals with home buyers. It accused the village and Pennella of fraud, unjust enrichment, and improper taking of private property rights.

It is demanding Pennella’s removal from office for “a pattern of misconduct and abuse of authority.”

Gracemere is also asking for a court order directing the village to build and maintain the subdivision roads, and for an order barring Pennella from any further involvement in the project.