The legal fight between the Town of Oyster Bay and operators of the former Liberty defense manufacturing site has remained in full force in recent weeks, as the two parties continue to clash over the municipality's attempts to shut down the industrial site.

Supreme Court Judge Bernard McCaffrey on Aug. 25 ruled that the Town of Oyster Bay violated the due process rights of the operators when it shut down all businesses at the site earlier in the month. The town had cited its emergency powers as justification for the action, based on hazards officials said they noticed at the property after responding to an Aug. 11 outdoor pallet fire. However, McCaffrey's opinion noted that the town did not specify in legal documents the safety violations that would have made the use of emergency powers plausible.

This was only the latest legal opinion issued on the shutdown, and even as this newspaper goes to press, the town is compiling evidence to persuade the District Court in Hempstead to take action to close the property.

The operators first brought the matter to the Supreme Court on Aug. 13, immediately following the town shutdown on Aug. 12, and received a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting the town from keeping the site closed. After a week of the case traveling back and forth from the State Supreme Court in Mineola to an Appellate Division Court in Brooklyn, on Aug. 18, Appellate Division Judge Daniel W. Joy ruled that the court should not override the town's action. Its reasoning was that the municipality was evoking emergency powers. The Aug. 25 decision rendered moot both the operators' temporary restraining order, and a competing one sought by the town, but noted that the town could seek an injunction closing the site from the District Court.

The former Liberty site houses 11 businesses, ranging from a pallet manufacturer to a food distributor. It is also listed as a federal Superfund inactive hazardous waste site that has been the subject of ongoing efforts at remediation since the late 1980s, overseen by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The town has also clashed with the property's owner, Jefry Rosmarin over plans for its future development.

Mark Fischl, a spokesperson for the leasing agent for the site, RGE Realty of Syosset, noted Tuesday the initial closing damaged both the businesses at the site and the image of the property so much that the Aug. 25 ruling in favor of the operators may have no effect on the future of the site. "I'm not quite sure that we can ever lease the premises again," he said.

Town Supervisor John Venditto, who has led efforts to close the site, said Monday, "Nobody's happy about shutting down any premises in the town. This a rare occurrence." However, he added that the town is taking the action to prevent the public, including those who work at the site, from numerous threats. These, he said, include plumbing, electrical and fire code violations, as well as what he believes are hazardous combustible materials.