A real estate firm with a long record of litigation against the city has filed a lawsuit in federal court in a last-ditch effort to halt the demolition of the Pike Plan canopies in Uptown Kingston. The new complaint filed on Christmas Day by Delmar-based attorney William Hurst on behalf of Neil Bender’s William Gottlieb Real Estate seeks a halt to the demolition as well as compensatory damages.

The canopies cover 1,700 feet of sidewalk along Wall and North Front streets and are bolted on to 40 properties. The structures were built in the mid-1970s based on a design by Woodstock artist and architect John Pike. In 2024, Mayor Steve Noble began an effort to have the structures torn down. Noble has claimed that the canopies have deteriorated beyond repair and the only alternative to demolition would be to completely rebuild them at a cost of $10 million. The Kingston Common Council subsequently approved the demolition project and allocated $1.2 million to carry it out and restore the underlying building facades.

Initial plans called for the work to take place in early 2025. But the effort was delayed when LLC’s controlled by William Gottleib Real Estate filed multiple legal actions in state Supreme Court to halt the demolition. WGRE and associated entities have engaged in constant litigation against the city since 2019 when a flurry of lawsuits attempted to halt approval for the Kingstonian mixed-use project in the Stockade District.

Mayor Steve Noble has accused the company of using “New York City-style legal warfare,” including sweeping Freedom of Information Act requests, to strain city resources and effectively wrest control of policymaking in Uptown Kingston from municipal government. The last of the lawsuits seeking to halt the demolition were dismissed this fall, clearing the way for the city to put the project out to bid with work scheduled to begin later this month.

But the latest lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of New York on behalf of seven WGRE properties abutting the Pike Plan again seeks an injunction to prevent the canopies’ demolition. The 44-page complaint alleges that the pending demolition violates three sections of the U.S. Constitution covering equal protection under the law, retaliation for protected speech and “unconstitutional taking” of private property. The suit also cites two alleged violations of the New York State Constitution related to due process and “inverse condemnation.”

Much of the complaint includes allegations made previously, including that the city deliberately allowed the canopies to deteriorate to justify their demolition and ignored a finding by state officials that the canopies were eligible for inclusion in the state and national Register of Historic Places. But in a new line of attack, the lawsuit claims that the demolition of the canopies is an act of retaliation against WGRE and its principal, Neil Bender. The suit cites public statements by Noble including calling Bender an “oligarch infiltrating our community” who was using “deep pockets to break the City of Kingston.” The complaint alleges that, with seven properties abutting the Pike Plan, WGRE would be especially hurt by the supposed negative impact of the canopies’ removal.

“The city has chosen to pursue this path not because demolition is required, and not because it satisfies any identified public need,” the complaint reads, “but because the mayor is determined to punish plaintiffs and/or their affiliated management company for asserting its legal rights in and to continued maintenance and upkeep of the Pike Plan and for refusing to capitulate to City Hall.”