By LARRY MAIER
Those residents who live near the intersection of Church Street and Verity Lane hope to soon be rid of a half-burned-down house in their neighborhood, now that the Town of Hempstead has learned of the homeowner's whereabouts.
The house at 805 Church St., which was nearly burned to the ground in a fire on Jan. 16, 2000, has been vacant since the blaze and, neighbors say, left in an unsafe condition.
It's an eyesore. Even before it burned down, the place looked like a junkyard, said Yvonne Seeger, whose backyard abuts the property. After the fire, debris would fall into my yard. I just don't know how safe it is.
According to Town of Hempstead spokesman Michael McConnell, the condition of the property was to be addressed at a public hearing during a Jan. 9 town board meeting. Commissioner of Buildings Joseph Nocella, was to petition the board to demolish and remove the unsafe dwelling and all debris from the site. If the resolution passed, the Town of Hempstead would perform the cleanup and bill the owner for the service.
However, the hearing was postponed until Feb. 27, because the commissioner could not be certain that the owner, Sherman Chalfin, had been notified of the public hearing and the town's intentions. The Town of Hempstead never received confirmation of a certified letter mailed on Dec. 26 to Chalfin at 805 Church St.
To further confuse matters, it wasn't until Dec. 29 that the town discovered that Chalfin was not living in the burned house but rather has been residing in the Nassau County Jail, in East Meadow, since October. According to the District Attorney's office, Chalfin was sentenced on Oct. 10 to six months for criminal sale of a controlled substance. Chalfin is scheduled to be released in early February, at which time the town will attempt to notify him again in regard to his property.
In the meantime, the property remains an eyesore to neighbors and an unsafe structure, particularly given the presence of children in the area.
There are definitely kids that hang out in there. I can see everything from my kitchen window, said Ella Brower, who lives in an upstairs apartment of a two-family house next door.
McConnell said that the town believed the property to be safely gated. However, on Jan. 10, when the Herald visited the property, there was no lock on the front gate. There was heavy foot traffic in the snow around the property and inside the dwelling. The property was also accessible from Verity Lane.
In light of this information, the Town of Hempstead said that it would secure the property in the near future. On a subsequent visit, the Herald did note that there was a new lock on the gate.
McConnell said that the town has no set protocol when it comes to dealing with these situations.
Not all fire-damaged structures require the intervention of the Town of Hempstead, said McConnell. We work with the homeowner and really go out of our way to help them along to rehabilitate the property, if possible.
One neighbor, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he is surprised it has taken the town almost a year to get involved. I heard right off the bat that they were going to tear it down, he said.
Lawrence Cerra, Chalfin's attorney, said that Chalfin wanted to rebuild the house, but that the Town of Hempstead feels there are structural defects.
It's an unfortunate situation, Cerra added. At the present time my client does not have the finances to restore the property.
Neighbors said they have called the town in the past to complain about the property.
They were always very pleasant, said Seeger. They told us that these things take time and that he has rights too. We were led to believe that in January it would be coming down.
We don't know what to believe anymore, she added, in light of the recent setback to that time frame.
I wish they'd just tear it down, said Brower.
