By Sarah Moskowitz
The application was on behalf of Swiss Ranch Estates in Lynbrook, a contractor with plans to build two houses on the property that is facing opposition from neighbors who say the homes would raise safety concerns for pedestrians and would not be esthetically pleasing to the area.
This is the third time property owner Tom Rice has tried to obtain permission from the village to make improvements on his property. In 1998, a contractor interested in buying the property requested use of the land for industrial purposes as a contractor's yard. The Lynbrook zoning board denied the application, which lawyer Dominick Minerva said faced opposition from nearby Valley Stream residents.
Rice filed another application last year on behalf of Swiss Ranch Estates, which wanted to build two two-family homes. Although there was no opposition from residents, Minerva said, the request was denied anyway.
Rice, who lives in Franklin Square, obtained the property at an auction in the mid-1980s. He felt it was a potentially valuable site for improvement and development, according to Minerva. The property was originally part of the New York City-owned watershed, and has a pump that transports water from the area to city boroughs. According to zoning expert and appraiser Barry Nelson of East Meadow, Rice pays real estate taxes of more than $9,000 and is looking to recoup some of his investment. The property has been on the market since Rice became the owner, Minerva said.
Anthony Mangone of Swiss Ranch Estates is looking to build two two-story homes, each with a driveway. Each property would measure 4,900 square feet, including two 1,000-square-foot house footprints. Nelson expects the house nearest the LIRR station to sell for $290,000 and the house nearer to the Long Island Water Company pump to sell for $330,000. The pump would remain untouched, said Minerva.
Area residents gathered at a Dec. 2 Lynbrook Village Board meeting claimed the homes pose a safety threat to school children crossing the property and to future homeowners trying to back out of their driveways.
Jim Whalen, a Valley Stream resident who lives on Hawthorne Avenue, vividly remembers a car accident in 1996 on the corner of Horton Avenue and Sunrise Highway that took the life of 79-year-old Lynbrook resident Josephine Triscoli. Rice's proposed homes would be built less than 50 feet from where the accident occurred.
"He would be [adding to] the inherent danger of the intersection of Horton and Sunrise," said Whalen. "If the crossing guard is going to [guide children] that length of highway, what's the point if they're going to navigate through a street that has nothing but driveways on both sides?"
Residents in opposition to the homes said another car accident could occur if the homes are built, because they would create more traffic in the area. Lynbrook police were unable to produce a list of accidents at this intersection as of press time.
State Assemblyman Robert Barra expressed his opposition to the subdivision proposal in a written statement. "I would be remiss if I did not address the current traffic situation at this location," Barra wrote. "It is already a busy traffic area. I must consider the residents who live on Hawthorne Avenue and on Horton Avenue who deal with the traffic congestion on a day to day basis. I, too, have witnessed the amount of cars that travel on both these streets and agree that any new structure being approved for this location would be deleterious to the community."
The subdivision request also asks the board to grant Rice a variance for the property's frontage. The frontage on the plot measures 98 feet, or 49 feet per house. It falls a total of 12 feet short of the village's requirements, which specify 55 feet of frontage per house.
Horton Avenue resident Wade Kern understands the difficulties of living near the busy intersection of Horton and Sunrise Highway. Kern's driveway is the closest one on his block to Sunrise Highway, and the volume of passing cars often makes backing out of his driveway difficult.
"Even in the middle of the night, when there's no traffic, any car crossing from Sunrise would be on me in a flash," Kern said. He added that during rush hour, he sometimes has to wait for the traffic light to change three times before there's enough of a break in traffic so he can leave his driveway.
"I don't think anybody that [would reside] in those houses would be able to get out of their house during rush hour," Kern said.
Minerva said he felt the claims of increased traffic in the area were exaggerated. "The incremental traffic movements that come from two houses are virtually nonexistent," he said. "That is not going to change the traffic posture on that street whatsoever."
The board moved at the Dec. 2 meeting to make a reserved decision on the matter. The next village meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. at the village hall.
