In Matter of Douglaston Civic Assn. v. Galvin (36 NY2d 1 [1974]) the Court recognized that individual property owners are often, if not always, at a prohibitive financial disadvantage when faced with the overwhelming resources which a developer can bring to bear in its efforts to effect changes in land use restrictions, which changes might well have a devastating consequence for such individual property owners. "By granting neighborhood and civic associations standing in such situations, the expense can be spread out over a number of property owners, putting them on an economic parity with the developer." (36 NY2d, at 6-7.)