By Howard Goldstein
Newbridge Creek once served as a border between Bellmore Avenue and Newbridge Road, but it has become a dividing line among neighbors over the town's piping plan.
Newbrigde Creek has not flowed steadily for several decades, but at times, it still fills during downpours, and the vegetation lining the creek bed is among the oldest and most-diverse natural habitats left in Bellmore.
Plans subject of debate
The Town of Hempstead plans to build an underground pipe through which rainwater and discharge will flow, in response to the flooding that residents of Martin Avenue, Rutler Road, Oak Street and Linden Street sometimes experience. In addition to flooding, proponents of the pipe say the creek bed serves as a pathway for trespassers, accrues garbage and might serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus.
The town has hired DeBruin Co. to build the pipe.
Joseph Castaldo, of Bellmore, is a major backer of the pipe. "There's flooding about a half-dozen to 10 times a year, mainly when it rains a lot in late summer," said Castaldo. Castaldo is also the father of an autistic child and says that the creek bed is unsafe for his daughter.
Other central Bellmore residents oppose the plan, wanting to preserve the creek and are unwilling to relinquish property to the town, which would be a necessity in building the 12-foot diameter pipe. Originally, the town proposed to build the pipe from Martin Avenue to Wilson Street, but opposition on Wilson and the southern side of Linden Street forced Hempstead to reduce the plan to stop the pipe at the northern end of Linden.
Town officials maintain that they went to great lengths to meet with residents and find a common solution. Town of Hempstead spokesman Michael Deery said that the town has been open and tried to "accommodate the community's needs, providing options, alternatives, and methods to alleviate concerns."
Several opponents of the pipe, however, say the town has been unscrupulous in its efforts to move the pipe project ahead and that the future of the neighborhood is at stake.
Five years ago, Ann and Maria Cintino's property on south Linden was slated for construction by Hempstead. The creek winds through the Cintino backyard, passing by the house foundation within less than 10 feet.
According to the original plan, the Cintinos would lose the creek bed, nearly all their trees, and use of the eastern portion of their property. The Cintino twins also did not understand how the pipe was even possible. It is 12 feet in diameter and requires a five-foot work easement on either side; the twins' house is less than 10 feet from the center of the creek bed.
Ann and Maria refused the plan, and the town threatened them with condemnation by right of eminent domain. "We bought this house because of the creek. It was the whole point of buying this kind of property. And then the town says we have to get it bulldozed or lose our rights to it. And even if we gave them the easement, we still lose the right to use much of the property as we want it, even without direct condemnation," said Ann Cintino.
Both women allege that Hempstead engineer Donald Supple threatened the Cintinos with condemnation if they did not agree to the pipe. Only after the Cintinos brought in an attorney did the town decide to honor the wishes of the homeowners on south Linden and Wilson and stop the pipe at northern Linden.
Spokesman Deery considers the decision to stop the pipe at north Linden the result of no clear majority wanting the pipe.
The town now considers 11 families, who own property directly on Newbridge Creek, to be the only homeowners affected.
According to the town, only two of 11 homeowners oppose the pipe. The town cites letters from the Martin Avenue School PTA and the North Bellmore School Board expressing safety and health concerns about the creek. Martin Avenue school is not fenced and lies nearby the creek.
Deceit charged
Both families, the Rizks and the Bellos, have been threatened with condemnation of their properties if they do not comply with the town's wishes to provide easements, the two families charge.
Ed Rizk's property would be gutted if a pipe were installed, his vegetable garden, shrubs and old trees turned into a field of gravel and grass.
Rizk has maintained the creek personally for years, clearing garbage and maintaining the retaining walls. Rizk bought his property because of the creek and ecosystem around it. In February 2001, he was approached by Donald Supple about the pipe. "I told him no way. He assured me that the whole project was actually not likely. I told Supple about the rumors I heard of condemnation, and he said it was impossible, that it would never happen. That no property owner would ever get condemned by Hempstead over the pipe".
George and Susan Bello did not receive such initial niceties, they said. They allege they were threatened with condemnation immediately.
The plan that Ed Rizk saw would have stripped the Bellos of most of their property. The Bellos complained, and a new plan was drafted.
"Many residents do not know what the second plan looks like," said Ann Cintino. The new plan calls for a straight pipe in the center of the streambed that would wipe out much of central Bellmore's green corridor.
The Bellos still would lose all their property adjacent to the streambed and about a third of the organic garden that took the couple several years to establish. The Bellos are still holding out before signing much of their property to the town.
"We were told to give the easement, or lose all of our property by right of eminent domain. As a property owner, it's lose-lose, and what do you do? What choice do we have?" asked Susan Bello.
Spokesman Deery said, "The town has gone to great lengths to avoid condemnation and is working with residents" on several alternatives.
Castaldo, who along with the O'Conners, is the most vocal proponent of the pipe, is pleased with how the situation was handled.
"I have no complaints; it was all very open," said Castaldo.
Ann Cintino, Maria Cintino, the Bellos, the Rizks and Mary Jane Andersen think differently. They all say to have been threatened and lied to by Donald Supple.
" He is a master at deceit," said Cintino.
According to the residents, Supple and the Town of Hempstead pursued a "divide and conquer" policy, in which families were told that they were the only homeowners on the creek who were against the plan, and were then threatened with condemnation.
They also allege they were told they could not bring attorneys to town meetings, were not invited to many town meetings, and that the town has ulterior motives in building the pipe.
According to the Bellos, Cintinos and Rizks, even if they give the easement, they still have to pay taxes on the land; and they are also responsible for the maintenance.
The Town of Hempstead, however, has not repaired the retaining walls in decades, and the town has refused to maintain the creek bed, according to the residents.
Hempstead spokesman Deery said that the walls are private property and the responsibility of homeowners.
That being the case, the most-outspoken residents in favor of the pipe are also the ones who have not mainatined their own properties and now want the town to eliminate the creek, according to those homewoners against the project.
"The residents who personally repair and maintain the creek bed want the creek, those who have neglected or abused it, want the pipe," said Rizk. "It's a hell of a thing to have the town refuse to repair the retaining walls, but then force the pipe plan in the name of helping the community. I maintained the creek for years because I wanted it; now the town can both take away the creek and still make me pay taxes and maintenance on it? It seems to be a very selective process of which homeowners' property rights are deemed important."
When the town had a clear majority opposition from southern Linden Street to Wilson, and lawyers were called in, the town stopped the pipe at northern Linden.
Ann and Maria Cintino, however, say this battle is far from over.
"The plan calls for a 12-foot, straight pipe. The creek used to have bends. The water pressure will be enormous. The town hasn't repaired the retaining walls in years, though I've called and asked for help keeping the wall in working condition. What do you think is going to happen when a 12-foot pipe shoots water through a four-foot hole into 30-year-old retaining walls? The walls are going to break down, my house will get flooded constantly, and the town will have us begging to put in a pipe."
According to Cintino, Rizk, Andersen and Crystal DeBobes, this is precisely the town's plan.
"It's just a matter of pushing the problem south," said Rizk. There is precedent for believing this. The current project proposal is the aftermath of piping north of Martin Avenue.
