Niskayuna Chickens
Your Subtitle text

Niskayuna Chickens: Micro-Farming Initiative for Niskayuna, NY

UPDATE April 2012:

Our appeal is still pending acceptance by the NYS Supreme Court. Judge Sara Read requested a conference with our lawyer, Jennifer Storm, to obtain more information, which is excellent news. The Supreme Court is presented with thousands of cases and, with only seven (7) Justices, they only accept a few cases a year. We are deeply honored that interest has been shown and more information requested.

Jennifer Storm:
"I had a conference with Judge Sarah Read of the New York Court of Appeals and my impression was that she was receptive to our argument. The Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, only picks a few cases to review. It is an honor that they are even considering ours. I think its obvious that an injustice was done here. I can only hope that after she considers the arguments and the filings the Judge agrees that this us an important case and that it deserves a full review by the Court."

UPDATE June 2011:
We have presented over 200 signatures so far to the Niskayuna Town Board in support of the Micro-Farming Initiative, and more people are joining us every day! In response, the Town has created a Comprehensive Development Plan Committee to review the proposal for inclusion into the Comprehensive Plan for 2013. The committee is headed by Kathy Matern from Glenville, the Town Planning Officer who also holds several other key appointed positions in the Town, and is the sole complainant against our chickens and micro-farming activities. The battle for our rights to produce food at home must continue using this committee as a vehicle.

Summary:
The Town of Niskayuna, NY has no ordinance/code/law against pet chickens in any residential zone. In spite of this, the Town took us to court, forced us to give up our beloved pets, and fined us nearly $4,000. We were never charged with any code violation as there is no law against chickens. Judge Swinton found the definitions in the Town Code regarding chickens to be irrelevant, introduced a new definition for the word "farm", declared chickens cannot be pets and may only be farm animals, and then found against us based on this new, unwritten law he created. We are appealing the ruling with great hopes for success.

The Town Board has refused to speak with us and other concerned citizens regarding this loss of rights with no input from the public. As a community, we are alarmed at the Town's intention to "clarify" and "redefine" existing town codes to prevent the keeping of chickens and other animals and strongly feel we have a right to have our opinions and desires heard by our elected officials.

We are currently circulating a petition to protect chickens and micro-farming rights in Niskayuna, NY, which we intend to present at the Town Board meeting on June 28, 2011. Please join us to protect our rights to self-sustainability, to use our land as allowed by law, and local government accountability to its residents.

Thank you so much for your continued support!
John & Brenda Helm

 

Content copyright . Niskayuna Chickens. All rights reserved.