By AMANDA HOFFMANN
�It is against the law to sell property that has been used as a public park without approval of the state Legislature,� said Samuel Levine, a retired judge and the former director-superintendent of real estate for Nassau County, who filed the suit to stop the sale on behalf of his son, Gary Levine.
The Levines contend that since the property once housed a lifeguard stand and public restrooms for beachgoers, it is a public park. In the past five years, however, as beach traffic headed to the larger Masone Beach, the property evolved into a storage facility for the village's holiday decorations and a parking area.
Mayor Jim Ruzicka said the property is a headache for the village, which has to maintain it and chase away teenagers who drink there. �We get calls about vagrants hanging out there and kids drinking,� said Ruzicka. �It's an old property and it's of no use to the village.�
The village listed the property, where, Ruzicka said, a home once stood, for sale for $380,000 in early 2007. The property, which the village bought in 1967 for $13,350, attracted one bid, for $100,000 under the asking price, from Joseph Balabanick, who has developed a dozen other properties in Island Park through his company, Banick Construction. Ruzicka said the village turned down the offer, again putting the property up for bid, in the hopes of attracting a better offer. None came, so the village moved ahead to complete the sale, which has now been held up by the Levine litigation.
The suit alleges that the village gave a $100,000 �discount� to �their favored home builder,� Balabanick.
�We went through all the proper procedures for the sale of the property. He was the only bidder,� said Ruzicka. �We went out and did it again, and he was still the only bidder.� He added that Balabanick does not do any work for the village. �He's not in any way a preferred builder for the village,� said Ruzicka. �He's a contractor and he has built homes in the village before.�
The village can ask whatever price it wants for the property, Ruzicka said, but that doesn't mean someone will bite. �We can appraise the property at any value, but when it goes out to bid, people can offer any amount they want,� he said. �We thought the first bids were low, and that's why we put it out to bid again.�
Village officials maintain that they did extensive research before putting the property up for bid. �The property in question can be sold, and it would be a benefit for the villagers to sell the property,� Ruzicka said, pointing out that the parcel is not and never has been regulated as a park.
Gary Levine, whose home is adjacent to the property, said that it has been used as a park for more than 30 years and that signs on the property confirm that it is a park. Levine contends that a home built on the property would block his water views and reduce the value of his home by $50,000 to $100,000. �This lawsuit is being done to protect the integrity and value of my home,� he said, adding, �I'm going to take this to the fullest extent of the law until hopefully justice is done, and anybody living in my home would do the same thing to put a stop to it to protect the value of their home.�
Samuel Levine said the lawsuit addresses the village's violations of law, questioning, among other things, its timetable for accepting bids and the procedures of the Board of Zoning Appeals, which had reviewed paperwork to build a home that had been submitted by Balabanick. �I am doing what I have to do to prove the village Board of Zoning Appeals and the village board are not in compliance with and are violating the law,� he said. �I'm asking the Supreme Court judge to declare the actions of the village Board of Trustees and the village Board of Zoning Appeals illegal and to stop the sale of this public park property and stop any construction on this public park property.�
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) said the state does not have any say in the fate of the property. �It's local jurisdiction,� Weisenberg said. �If there is wrongdoing, I told [the Levines] to take legal action. We asked real estate attorneys familiar with government law, and they said we don't have jurisdiction.�
Weisenberg said that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office also investigated, but did not find any violations of state law. Calls to the attorney general's office were not returned.
Village residents are not likely to feel the financial effects of the lawsuit this year. The village did not add the money from the sale into the 2009-10 operating budget, and has set aside $50,000 for legal fees. �[Levine] has a right to put in the suit, but unfortunately it will cost the taxpayers money to fight,� said Ruzicka. �We don't expect the fees to be extravagant because we believe we have a very good case.�
He acknowledged, however, that the fees could add up if the case is not settled quickly. �If we thought for one minute it was wrong or that we didn't have a leg to stand on,� said Ruzicka, �we wouldn't go through with it.�
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