Thursday, October 1, 2026
A battle is shaping up between a group of residents and one of Long Beach’s largest developers over his ambitious plans for a half-century-old piece of property in the city’s well-kept Eastholme section.
The fight was set to take center stage Thursday night, when developer Charles Mayeri, of Great Neck, was scheduled to appear before the Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals.
On its face, the meeting may sound like a yawner. Mayeri is seeking to overturn a decision last June by the city building commissioner, Scott Kemins, who issued a stop-work order prohibiting the developer from continuing to construct two driveways at 355 E. Beach St., a Georgian-style two-family home that Mayeri bought for $879,000 at an estate sale. Building inspectors arrived on June 11, but the driveways had been completed the day before. Mayeri has not been asked to remove them.
The property had been owned for near 50 years by the late Larry and Hope Fischer.
If Mayeri is unsuccessful in overturning Kemins’s decision, he is expected to ultimately seek a variance for the finished driveways. He is arguing that Kemins misinterpreted city building codes when he issued the stop-work order.
But what has members of the Block Alliance Association, a grouo of Eastholme residents, particularly upset is that they believe Mayeri ultimately may want to subdivide the property and build another house on it. Jessica Rone, an association member who lives near the Mayeri property, and other members say they are certain the developer plans to subdivide.
Mayeri could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Albert D’Agostino, did not return calls seeking comment.
Association members note that Mayeri appeared before the ZBA in October 2020 and requested that the property be subdivided so that he could demolish the existing garage and build a new two-family house with two driveways. The original house, association members said, would remain standing.
In 2020, Mayeri sought to overcome a Long Beach moratorium on the construction of two-family homes and the demolition of existing buildings to enable subdivides. The ZBA turned him down.
Although the issue of subdividing was not on the agenda for Thursday night, association members said they saw Mayeri’s plans as a slow escalation toward his ultimate goal. “This is his second attempt” at subdividing, Rone said. “This is an aggressive move.”
The association opposes subdividing property, saying it increases density, raises costs for the school district as new children enroll, and puts added strain on sewers, roads, and fire and police services.
“If we were just looking out for ourselves, we would benefit from a brand new house,” Rone said. But subdividing[, she added, would bring problems for the entire neighborhood.
Shaen Begleiter, another association member who lives nearby, said that the former owners maintained the two-story house and its grounds in magnificent style, with a colorful and rich garden. “We believe the current property is a great asset,” Begleiter said. “Subdividing it is an overkill. We would like some semblance of respect for the community.”
Lawsuits are expected to be filed by whichever side loses before the ZBA.
The association members met in September with City Manager Donna Gayden, Corporation Counsel Rich Berrios and Kemins. But, Rone said, little was accomplished. “Everyone left frustrated,” she said.
John McNally, a city spokesman, said the issue is now before the zoning board, and declined further comment.
