Grossman lot sold for $2.6 million

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A 4,500-square-foot lot at the corner of Atlantic and Terrell avenues, which had drawn the ire of residents due to overgrown vegetation and accumulation of debris, was sold in December for $2.6 million to a holding company for the Breslin Realty Development Corp., a prominent Long Island developer, according to records. The exchange opens the possiblity that the lot could become something entirely new.

The sale came amid an ongoing legal dispute between owner Gary Grossman and the Jacobson Development Group, which has a $350,000 stake in the mortgage for both the lot and Grossman’s Nursery, across the street. Grossman, of Long Beach, said the sale was part of a legal strategy in the ongoing case.

The dispute centers on a contract to develop the lot and the nursery, according to court records. Grossman claims that Jacobson didn’t live up to its end of the bargain in gathering the necessary resources and permits to build, he said in a phone interview. Jacobson, in court filings, claims that it did, and in a separate legal action is attempting to foreclose on the mortgage due to nonpayment. Jacobson’s attorney, Joseph Sacco, issued a statement on behalf of his client expressing regret over the suit.

“The pending litigation between Jacobson Development and the Grossmans is a regrettable detour on the path toward a better, brighter Oceanside,” the statement read. “But Mr. Jacobson believes that Jacobson Development’s rights under its contract with the Grossmans will be validated and hopes to be back on track soon.”

The sale, carried out last December, was to a holding company, Jazz Grand LLC, which occupies the same address as the Garden City-based Breslin Realty Development Corp., a large-scale developer that has constructed and maintained commercial and mixed-use properties across the Island. The nearest is the Baldwin Harbor Shopping Center on Atlantic Avenue. Wilbur Breslin, chief executive officer of the corporation, said he could not comment on his company’s plans for the property as the Herald went to press on Monday.

The lot, which had formerly housed Oceanside American Legion Post 1246, has long been a source of controversy in the neighborhood, according to previous Herald reporting. Complaints to the Town of Hempstead on issues such as outside storage of vehicles and building permit violations had piled up since at least 1989, until August 2016, when bulldozers were dispatched to the lot to remove the debris, according to court documents in another recent legal effort by Grossman, this one against the town, asking that it be barred from entering the property again. The town had reportedly removed more than 400 tons of debris, including trees, old trucks, tractors and a dilapidated shed, also according to previous Herald reporting.

Now, however, there is a potential for the lot to become something else. Oceanside resident Andrew Berman, a financial adviser in Long Beach, said he would love to see a similar office or a children’s recreation center built on the property. “You look at the success of Bounce on Lawson Boulevard, it always seems to be packed,” he said. “I have kids. I would love to have a place like that for them.”