By:Leslie Gonzalez
Private insurance adjusters still evaluating damage
Two weeks after a fierce electrical fire swept through a large commercial building at the Five Corners intersection in Lynbrook, the village's Buildings Department determined the structure does not need to be torn down because of safety concerns.
The early morning blaze on June 18 destroyed a row of second-story offices and caused extensive smoke and water damage to six ground-level businesses in the downtown business district, at the corner of Merrick Road and Atlantic Avenue.
According to Lou Bello, Lynbrook's superintendent of buildings,
between six and eight structural support beams were lost on the first floor and 12 roof rafters were destroyed upstairs.
Despite the damage, Bello said, "The building is in no eminent danger of collapse."
No one was injured in the fire, which broke out on the second-floor and destroyed the law offices of Darryl Chason and the late attorney Norman L. Dreyer, former deputy mayor and village trustee.
The building's first level, which housed Mike's Dry Cleaners, Rubie's Health Food and Vitamins, Wireless Hut, Color Nails, the Broadway Beanery, and Lynbrook Luxury Blinds and Shades, sustained severe smoke and water damage.
Investigators from the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office said the electrical fire started in the ceiling above the nail salon.
Sheldon Pulaski, a Woodmere building engineer hired by the building's owners, Lynbrook-Broadway Associates, Inc., visited the site twice to evaluate structural damage and determine how it can be repaired.
Although the Lynbrook Fire Department initially estimated the building's damage at $250,000, Bello said the damage is at least $400,000.
Once private insurance adjusters complete their damage estimates in the upcoming months, Lynbrook-Broadway Associates, Inc. will evaluate whether the existing structure is worth being fixed or should be demolished.
"This may take six months to a year, but at the least it will take a couple of months," said Paramjit Singh, owner of Wireless Hut.
Regardless of the Lynbrook-Broadway Associates' decision, one store will not re-open because of financial difficulties.
"We were uninsured. This is the last thing in the world we expected to happen," said Miguel Perez, son of Zacarias Perez, who owns Mike's Dry Cleaners. "There is no way for us to rebuild."
Zacarias Perez was in the building at the time of the fire and reported it to Lynbrook police. Village officials said the damage would have been much worse if not for Perez. His son apologized to his family's customers and said he will work to reimburse lost property.
Victory Travel, located in a neighboring building on Atlantic Avenue, is temporarily closed because of structural damage caused by firefighters making sure the blaze hadn't spread through the walls of adjacent buildings. The business will be gutted within the next few weeks.
