The opinion
*461 The plaintiff neither demonstrated a reasonable excuse for his delay in serving the complaint nor submitted a proper affidavit of merits. Therefore, the defendant’s motion to dismiss the action should have been granted (see, Redding v Saunders, 213 AD2d 1015 ; see also, Scott v George, 222 AD2d 1049 ; Rosano v County of Nassau, 208 AD2d 704 ). Mangano, P. J., Thompson, Plorio and McGinity, JJ., concur.