The opinion
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.
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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.
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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:: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2025 04:18 PM INDEX NO. 512532/2025
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2025
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
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FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2025 04:18 PM INDEX NO. 512532/2025
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2025
matters -to verify the. number ofsigi:tatures. Rather than going to the Board to do so, the
tespond~nt-candidate agreed.to ••withdraw."·
Based. on the respondent-candidate's inability to state the number of signatures, artd
his declin1ng tu .go the Board with the court referees lo verify the number of signatures in
the designating petitionJthe· s_pecial..referees involved in thi_$ matter went to ·theBo_atd's
.Kings County office and viewed the designating petition. In doing soJ the. referees-, in
counting the Signatures, found that the designating petition only contains a total of 59
signatures.
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):
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FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 04/30/2025 04:18 PM INDEX NO. 512532/2025
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/30/2025
candidate;s designating petition is insufficient; and the petitioner is entitled to an order
striking the respondent,;..candidate' s name from the ballot.
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¥
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