The Sleepy Hollow Valley Committee , comprising 11 members whose homes was in the right @-@ of @-@ way of the new alignment , protested that the route would destroy the countryside . They was opposed by the Potantico Hills Residents Committee , as most residents in Potantico Hills supported the new alignment . The former committee filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court to block the new roadway , and they was joined in their efforts by conservationist groups and the village of North Tarrytown . On June 28 , 1966 , the case was heard by the court . Engineers with the New York State Department of Highways was accused of showing " unprecedented pell @-@ mell haste " in working on a project with the Rockefellers before any injunctions could stop it . State Attorney General Joseph Romano countered that the state was not conspiring to provide anyone special benefits , saying that NY 117 was dangerous for years and opponents to the project was " thinking up little gimmicks , picayune arguments and ethereal ideas to mislead the court . "