By Nicole Falco
About 50 donations of as much as $100 from both individuals and families will cover the costs of filing the lawsuit and retaining a lawyer. In all, $4,500 was raised by residents.
"We're proceeding with this," said Gibson resident Alan Schaechter, who, along with a handful of others, has taken the lead in challenging the development. "We're stopping them from building this. We feel we have a really good case."
According to Andrew Campanelli, of Perry & Campanelli in Mineola, attorney for the plaintiffs, the major points being challenged in the lawsuit are the density of the project, the setback on Gibson Boulevard, the location of play space for children and the lack of an environmental impact study. Village zoning code allows a maximum of 40 percent lot coverage, whereas a variance was granted for 69 percent. The maximum number of dwelling units permitted on the lot is 30, according to the village's interpretation of the code, and 23, according to residents' interpretation, but a variance was granted for 35 units. Code requires a 20-foot front setback, but a variance was granted for a 4-foot front setback from the property line along Gibson Boulevard. And Campanelli said the children's play area is located on a deck, which, according to the plaintiffs' interpretation of the code, is not permissible in a C-1 District. "If you go to Queens, you see kids playing on a roof - not in Nassau County," Campanelli said.
"Everything about this project doesn't make sense," he said. "It's clear that the board didn't take a hard look at this project. It is so contrary to the residential character of the community that it would be nothing short of a blight on the community."
At its July 26 decision meeting, the BZA voted unanimously to approve the site plan and variances applied for by the property owner, Dr. Leonard Bleicher, a Hewlett Harbor resident. There is currently a row of a dozen store fronts on the property. All but three - a music store, frame shop and laundromat - are empty.
Mike McKenna, counsel to the BZA, said in response to some of the claims made in the plaintiff's lawsuit, "The whole point of a zoning board is to grant a variance from the strict application of the code. Every variance that is granted in the village runs counter to the zoning code."
McKenna added that the row of stores now on the property already violates the setback requirements. The children's play area, which is required by the code, is not a deck, he said. And a Short Environment Assessment Form, the required form for this project, McKenna said, was submitted by the applicant.
Dominick Minerva of Minerva & D'Agostino, attorney for Bleicher, said his client has yet to receive notice of the lawsuit from the court. Minerva also said Bleicher remains committed to the project.
"The likelihood of success in challenging a Board of Zoning of Appeals decision is remote to none," Minerva said, basing his assessment on a trio of decisions by the Court of Appeals in 2001 that a court's judgment cannot substitute for the BZA's judgment.
Comments about this story? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
