Tivoli Sailing court date postponed

The court face-off between the Village of Tivoli and Tivoli Sailing Company owner Jerome Hollick has been put off until later this fall.

Both Steve Cole, the zoning enforcement officer for the village, and Hollick told The Observer they expected to go to court in November.

The village is taking legal action over a dock that Hollick built in 2007 on what is now village riverfront property just south of the railroad crossing.

Hollick had been tying up the boats he uses for his company’s chartered sails at that location since 2000. The land was purchased by the village from CSX railroad in 2010.

This year, the village accused Hollick of repairing the dock without the appropriate building permit and is taking the matter to court for resolution.

Last year, Hollick noted that the dock is available for public use and is intended to help all Tivoli residents access the waterfront while the village’s planned waterfront development project moves forward. In a recent interview, Hollick told The Observer he still believes that he is not doing anything illegal since the dock is located on public land.

He reaffirmed his belief that he may be granted rights to use the dock when the case goes to court, because of the principle of “adverse possession,” in which a person may be granted the right to use another’s property if they have been doing so openly for over 10 years.

“I’m really not worried about it,” he said. “My dock’s not going anywhere.”

The Tivoli Mayor’s office refused to comment on the pending court case.

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