Louis v. El-Gamasy

Louis v El-Gamasy 2025 NY Slip Op 31565(U) April 30, 2025 Supreme Court, Kings County Docket Number: Index No. 512532/25 Judge: Lawrence Knipel Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.

This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.

FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2025 04:18 PM INDEX NO. 512532/2025 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2025

At the Special Election.l'ait of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, held in.and for the County .of Kings, atthe.CoUiihouse; at J60 Adams Street, Brooklyn,·New York, on ·the JQ th day of April, 2025.

PRESENT: HON. LAWRENCE S. i<NIPEL, Ju~Uce. --. -.-------· --------------. -.----------.. --.. -.. ---------. --. ---. -.-----------·X FARAHN. LOT.,flS, Candidat~. Aggrieved, Petitioner, -against:- Index No.: 5l2532/25

HATEM A. EL-GAMASY, Respondent..Candidate,

BOARD OF ELECTIONS. IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK,.

Respondents~

For an Order Pursuant.to Sections 16-100, 16"- 102 and 16-116 of the Election Law, Declaring Invalid the Designating Petition :Purporting to Designate.the Respondent(!il)~C~ndidl:lte(s} for the Public .Qffice···or party position of rnember· of the •City· Council from the 45th Council District, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York in the· RepubJican Prhnary Election to be Held on June 24, 2025;· and to Restrain the said BOARD OF ELECTIONS fro,n Printirigand Placing theN"amtes ofsaid of Candidate(s) Upon the official B~llots Snc4 Primary Election. ··-· - .. -------· ----- ·--------- ·-----------. ·-------- ·.--· --- .. ·---·., .--------···· X The.following e-filed·papers read herein: NYSCEF Doc Nos;: Notice of Motion/Order to Show Cause/ Petition/Cross Motion and Affidavits (Affiimations) Annexed_ _ _ _ _ __ 1-2 8 11 Opposing Affidavits/Answe r (Affinnations) _ _ __ Affidavits/ Affirmations in Reply _ _ _ _ _ __ Other Papers:: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Upon the foregoing papers and upon oral argument conducted on the record on April .21,2025., and Aprii 29, 2025-, p.etitio.net candidate-aggrieved FarnhN. Lo1Jis{pefitioner), :petitions for an order and judgment declaring invalid the design.ating petition of the respondent-candidate. Hatem A. El-Gamasy (respondent-candidate). and restraining . the .

respondent Bqa(d ofEledions in the City of New York (Board) from printing respondent- .candidate's name oh the ballot. for the _public office of member of City Council for the 45th Council District in Kings County in the Republican Primary _Election to be_ held oh June 24, 2025.

At the oral argument condu.cted on the record on April 29, 2025, respondent- candidate, appearing prose, orally 1nc>Ved to ·re.argue lhj~ court"'.s clenial ofhh~-oralmotio n to dismiss in this court's order dated April 24; 2025. This court denied reargument on the record. After this denial, the .court noted that petitioner's primcity claim is that the respondent~candidate· does not have a sufficient number of signatures in his designating petition to be place.d _◊n the ballot_. The court additionally noteo ·that the Board. has represented that 327 signatures are needed to be placed on the ballot for th~ Repub_ljcan Primary Election for the 45th Council District and asked the petitioner-candidate how many signatures he h,cJ,d submitted to the J3Qa.rd. In response, the respondent-cand idate stated that he was not sure -of the: number because he was not personally involved in .filing the designating petition with the Board. The comt th,en gave respondent-cand idate an opportunity to go to the Board w-ith the· court; s special -referees involved in the election

New York City Charter § 1057-b _provides. that the number" of sig_natur.es for candidates for.e_k:c;;tivi;: office in the Ci!)7 are &overned.by the Election Law, but~ in no event, are more than 450 signatures r,equired for the .office of member of city council (NY City Charter§ 10$7-b [a] [3]). A~ the Election Law alternative of not less than five per c.entum of the-registered Republicans in_ active.-:~tatu_s in the district-_(Election· Law§. 6'-lJ6 [2]) is 327, 1 it is this lesser number that constitutes the>number of signatures required to be in the designating petition. Given that respondent-candidate':s designating petition contains fewer than .the 327 signatures that ·are required to be plac,ed on the ballot, the -res_pondent-

1 Thecourttakes judicial notice oft he Board's list of the.number of active. Republican registered voters in. the45 th City Council district posted on the Board's pu_blic website that indkatesthat-.there:ar .e 6525 active regist(:!r!;!d RepiJ b lica ns· iri the district· ( https :// www.v..ot_e.nyc/s it_e!f/d efauJt/fil~s/pdf/ vote/202S/ Cityfo_u n;dl _ Active· _rnactiife.pdf; see Kingsbrook)ewishMed: Ctr. v Allstate .Ins. Co., 61 AD3d l~, 19-21 [2d dept 2009}; see also M~tter of Green v Voyticky, 185 AD.2d 956, 957 [2d Dept 1992]; Matter of Andrewsv Board a/Elections of Coun_ty ofAlbany, 164AD2d 960~ ~61-962 [3d Dej:Jt-1990h Election 1aYi"§ 5-604 "[1]). Five percent ofthi.$ number is 326.25.

As"S;"uch, 327 signatures ·are required (see Matter ofAndrews, 164 ADidat 961-962; Matter o{/1111/doon, 123 NY52d 711, 713 [Sup Ct, Oswego Countf1953]; Election Law§ 6-136 (21):

Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that petition ts granted, respondent"candidate Hatem A, El-Gamasy's designating petition is declared hwalid, and the respondent Board of Elections in the City of New York is directed to tetnove respondent-candidate's name from the ballot for the public office of member of City Coun.cilfor the45th. Council District in Kings County in the Republic:an Primary Election to be held on June 24, 2025, This constitutesthedecision; order and Judgment of the court.

J.S .c. ~stice Giwmnoo Kn~ ,adfU)I ~lrj.·~.981¥