By NANCY HILER
They hope to prevent the subdivision of the land and what they consider overdevelopment.
The homeowners want to preserve the existing single-home footprints of the two properties, at 336 St. Marks Ave. and at 400 Washington Ave. Both are between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road in a small enclave of well-kept, modest homes between Bedford and Centre avenues.
"These are unique, charming blocks in Bellmore, and we want to keep the community that way," said Matthew Walden, president of the new group, which calls itself the Bellmore Preservation Group, at a meeting on Aug. 2 at Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg's office on Merrick Road. Denenberg, a Democrat, represents the Bellmore-Merrick area.
"We don't want any properties divided," Walden said. There has been other construction in that area, he explained, but the homes were restored or redone without dividing the land and in keeping with the current modest nature of the community. "They could easily have been split up, but were not, because homeowners wanted to maintain the uniqueness and charm of the area," Walden said.
Others who attended the meeting, many of whom live next door to or behind one of the properties, voiced their concerns about the potential for added congestion, overcrowding, traffic and loss of trees. The immediate area already serves the traffic associated with three churches, a school, a funeral home, two banks, a post office, the public library, an Applebee's restaurant and other commercial establishments, and is used as a "cut-through," according to locals.
"We already have cars rip-roaring down our streets," said Peggy Manglirawan of Centre Avenue, whose property backs up to the one on St. Marks.
"There are no parking spots now," added Mary Coons of Washington Avenue. The mother of three said that traffic was already an issue in the area, including added auto and bus traffic due to the school, churches and businesses. "I'm afraid it will be a dangerous situation, especially for children," Coons said.
The St. Marks Avenue project faces another issue, the creation of a so-called "flag lot," according to David White, another homeowner. "The owner wants to subdivide his existing property to St. Marks Avenue, connecting it to the street via a 20-foot-wide driveway," White explained. This type of configuration is considered problematic for emergency response vehicle access.
Manglirawan said she was worried about the proposal, which calls for the construction of a second home behind an existing home. She said the property would be too crowded, and ruin the character of the neighborhood. Allowing construction of back-to-back homes might lead to at least two more on adjacent properties, she said, creating what she called "a little city." "My yard is my sanctuary," Manglirawan said. "I don't want to see six houses staring down at me when I'm in my pool."
The homeowners group, represented by attorney Jeffrey Toback, a Democratic county legislator from Oceanside, wants the Town of Hempstead to address lot size in general to protect quality of life and homes' market values. "There's a bigger issue than this block or that block," Toback said. "There's a trend in the Town of Hempstead that we have to slow down."
The Wild West?
"It's like the Wild West," said resident Bob Young, who is running for the Hempstead Town Council's 5th District seat currently occupied by Angie Cullin. "The Town of Hempstead has to take a look at long-range goals and ask, What kind of housing do you want to encourage? There's no design in the town for zoning, and people get away with whatever they can. The net effect decreases values of neighborhoods."
"We're not anti-progress or anti-business," White said. "We just want to hold off putting very large houses in the middle of other homes."
Young added that he was happy to see the type of group effort being undertaken by the Bellmore homeowners. "For every one homeowner willing to come forward and voice their concern about this issue," Young said, "there are another 10 behind him." A group working toward what he calls self-determination is necessary, and more effective than individual homeowners acting alone, he said.
Attorneys for and representatives of property developers Avellino Development Inc. could not be reached for comment.
Group action, hearings
About 170 letters have been sent so far to Town Council members who sit on the Board of Zoning Appeals, one homeowner said at the meeting. Petitions against the proposed developments were being signed, said another.
Homeowners encouraged one another to spread the word about two upcoming Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals hearings -- one on the Washington Avenue property on Thursday, and another on the St. Marks Avenue property on Sept. 26.
Comments about this story? NHiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
