607 N.Y.S.2d 78 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1994
—In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the Town Board of the Town of Babylon dated January 3, 1991, which abolished the position of Sanctuary Coordinator, the petitioner appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Rohl, J.), dated June 12, 1991, which, after a hearing, upon an order granting the respondents’ application to dismiss the proceeding, dismissed the proceeding. The petitioner’s notice of appeal from the order dated June 12, 1991, is deemed a premature notice of appeal from the judgment (CPLR 5520 [c]).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed, with costs.
It is well settled that a public employer may abolish civil service positions for purposes of economy or efficiency (see, Matter of Aldazabal v Carey, 44 NY2d 787). A position may not, however, be abolished as a subterfuge to avoid the statutory protection afforded to civil servants before they are discharged (see, Wood v City of New York, 274 NY 155). One who challenges the abolition of a position has the burden of proving that the act was not effected in good faith (see, Matter of O'Donnell v Kirby, 112 AD2d 936; Matter of Piekielniak v Axelrod, 92 AD2d 968, 969).
Here, the record indicates that the abolition of the petition