By Jeff Lipton
He's an innocent bystander caught up in the middle of a zoning battle before the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals involving a developer who constructed two homes with basements in a flood hazard zone. Zoning laws state that basements are not permitted in the area.
But Englard, who went to contract in March to buy one of the two homes, has been left in limbo, with the home still about 80 percent complete. He had to sell his home in Cedarhurst because he was under contract to do so, figuring that he, his wife and three children would make the smooth transition into the new home. But the town soon put a stop work order on the home because the developer, Kamran Pourgol, was not building according to plans, officials said. Besides being built with basements, the project violated side yard and building lot coverage by a small percentage.
Now Englard, a Certified Public Accountant, has been forced to rent an apartment in Cedarhurst until the issue gets resolved before the zoning board.
"The delay is a financial hardship," Englard told the Herald before the start of a continuation of a public hearing before the zoning board on Thursday, Jan. 17. "The rest is emotional. Here we are packed and everything and we can't move in. Hopefully, this fiasco will be concluded after today."
The Jan. 17 hearing saw several residents testify against the project, at Clubhouse Road and Fairway Drive, saying that it is out of character with the rest of the neighborhood and that the developer has been flaunting zoning laws. They also accused the developer of continuing with construction after the stop work order was issued. They added that their issue is not with Englard but with the developer, Pourgol, whom they said was doing whatever he felt like.
Allen Kramer, who has lived in Woodmere Park for eight years, said, "I'm against the idea that people can build without having the town involved in the inspections, including the foundation, electrical, plumbing."
Kramer said he also objected to the appearance of the home, which is out of character with the rest of the homes in the neighborhood. "All the homes are spread out," he said. "These homes are very much on top of each other." He said he did not know of any Woodmere Park homes with basements.
Bonnie and Donald Schwartz, whose backyard adjoins the property where the new homes are being constructed, said their family is most affected by the new homes and called the new construction "an invasion of our privacy."
"We have been law-abiding citizens and take extreme pride in our home and family," they said. "This builder has tarnished the quality of life in Woodmere, and we plead with the [BZA] to make the builder remove one of the two homes. This violation of the law will not only result in environmental implications, but it will also cause the neighborhood to incur financial consequences, as the value of property will diminish."
Ms. Schwartz said she has a pool in the backyard and expressed concern that if the basements of the new homes flood, dirty water will pour into her backyard and pool.
Before the hearing, Pourgol, a developer for 20 years, said he was surprised about the negative response he has received from neighbors. "Normally neighbors are happy when they see a new house being built and they jump up. The house I demolished was neglected for years," he said
The developer added that he has been suffering a financial hardship, paying mortgage and taxes on homes that have been standing unfinished for several months. He said he was unaware that he could not build basements in that neighborhood and was required to build only crawl spaces because of the flood hazard zone. "The flood hazard zone has caused me a lot of problems," he said.
"They are angry because there was one home, I demolished it and built two homes," Pourgol said. "But I paid for two buildable lots. I don't buy a house based on one piece of property." He admitted that he has received summonses from the town for the construction project.
Englard said he spoke with an engineer prior to signing a contract and was given assurances that the property was safe in a flood hazard zone. The property is about 500 feet from Mott Creek. The basements of the homes were built about six feet below the base flood elevation. Pourgol's attorney, William Bonesso, called experts to testify at the Jan. 17 hearing that the homes were designed to withstand an upsurge of water during heavy rainfall, which could produce flood-like conditions. But Anthony Guardino, the attorney representing those opposed to the construction, during his cross-examination revealed that a flood producing 750,000 pounds of force would be too much for a house weighing about 150,000 pounds, putting the neighbors and their property in jeopardy during heavy flooding.
