Lakewood Stables slowly stabilizing

Things are looking up for Lakewood Stables. In addition to receiving approval earlier this month from the Town of Hempstead to begin demolition of the aging West Hempstead property, its owner has managed to stave off foreclosure.

After two years of foreclosure proceedings, owner Alex Jacobson was able to negotiate an agreement with Maspeth Federal Savings & Loan bank that postponed a foreclosure auction scheduled for March 15 and would get the stable’s loan reinstated.

“It’s been an extensive process,” Jacobson  said. “We’ve been working with our lender for a little over two years.”

Jacobson told the Herald he was able to convince the bank to reinstate the loan by providing documents proving he is due a refund from Nassau County for a recently settled 2003-04 tax certiorari.

Additionally, Jacobson explained to the lender that he’s pushing a bill currently stalled in Albany that is expected to cut some 66 percent of the stables’ taxes. Jacobson said Lakewood Stables pays about $70,000 in taxes annually and that is what landed the property in debt in the first place.

“We’ve got to give a lot of horseback rides for those taxes,” Jacobson said.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach), calls for an exception to a state law that requires agricultural properties that are zoned commercial to be at least five acres to qualify for tax breaks. If passed, the bill would make an exception to the law for agricultural properties in the Town of Hempstead that are at least one acre. The 1.03-acre Lakewood Stables property is in a commercial zone, which carries higher taxes.

With the expected refund and potential tax cut, the stables will be able to cover its costs, according to Jacobson, who took over the property in 2006. To increase profit, he is planning a complete renovation and expansion of the facility (to 1.75 acres) that would make the seasonal operation year round.

Having received the go-ahead from the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals on March 2, Jacobson plans to begin demolition in April.