By Hector Flores
Susie Trinkle, Town of Hempstead spokeswoman, said complaints about the two homes, on 1550 and 1556 Broad St., have been recorded since the 1980s.
The town "Building Department has received complaints on the two homes since 1989," she said. "There have been reports of abandoned materials, litter and debris. The most-recent complaint was in regard to the outside storage of lawn mowers and junk."
The department has acquired the two homes, and fire officials needed two years to evict the resident from 1550 Broad St., a two-story home. Once the residents left, the cleanup was intense.
"The previous resident of the home had garbage staked up to the second floor," said William Riley, district supervisor for the North Bellmore Fire Department. "It took us three 30-yard dumpsters to empty out all the garbage in the house. There were bicycles in here; you name it, he had it. He made Broad Street the worst street in North Bellmore."
Riley also described the second home on 1556 Broad St., which was recently acquired as a wreck, with a broken fence, a dumpster in front and five cars in the driveway. The department expects occupants of the second home to move out by the end of August. And once they are gone, the department will level both houses and build a parking lot on the site.
"Since the expansion of Newbridge Road," said Riley, "we lost valuable parking area. This new parking lot will provide us with 25 additional parking spaces for our firefighters.
"In addition," he said, "we are going to put shrubbery, new fences, new sidewalk, new curbs, new drainage and a new foundation. Everything is going to be top shelf. Right now, we have a bid out, and we hope to get it done as soon as possible."
Scott Belovin, corresponding secretary for the North Bellmore Civic Association, is happy that the neighborhood will finally be rid of its two eyesores.
"I live right next door to the corner house on Eyre Place [1550 Broad St.], and that house has been a problem for 15 years," he said. "The civic association appreciates the department's efforts to make these improvements, and they are improvements because these homes have been in need of repair for far too long."
