By Andrew Coen
Resident files objection over proposition dropped from ballot
With the vote on the sale of the former Number One School property fast
approaching, a District 15 resident has filed a petition seeking to stop the
referendum because a second proposition, which would have earmarked the
money for building repairs, was dropped from the Aug. 7 ballot.
John Squeri of Atlantic Beach has filed the petition, demanding that the
vote be scrapped. In the petition he argued that the Lawrence school board's
July 19 decision to drop the capital reserve fund proposition, which would
have required that the proceeds from the sale be set aside for various
building needs throughout the district, violated New York state education
law and was "arbitrary and capricious." The petition also claimed that by
yanking the second proposition from the ballot, the district did not give
residents enough public notice, and thus created the potential for
confusion.
"The board has failed to give its voters proper notice of the material
change of removal of Proposition 2 from the ballot and elected instead to go
forward with the Aug. 7 election, creating the potential for voter confusion
and negating the legal notices that have so far been posted," Squeri's
attorney, Elizabeth Meyersohn, wrote in the petition.
Meyersohn is also representing Fu-Yun Tang of North Woodmere, who filed
a petition with the state in mid-July seeking the removal of school board
members Uri Kaufman, Murray Forman and Michael Hatten for what she described
as a "dereliction of duties."
If residents approve the $27.5 million sale of the property containing
the former elementary school, which was closed in June 2004 as part of a
consolidation plan to save the district money, Neuberg Development LLC,
owned by Lawrence resident David Neuberg, would receive the go-ahead to
construct luxury condominiums. According to district officials, $27.5
million was the highest bid they received for the 3.79-acre property.
The petition, filed last week, was drawn up a week after the school
board voted 5-2 July 19 to drop the capital reserve proposition - one month
after it approved both referendums for the Aug. 7 vote. The June 20 school
board meeting was the last one with public-school parents holding a
majority, before Trustees Frank Parise and Kathy Raquet were replaced by
private-school parents Kaufman and Hatten, who won seats on the board in
May.
At the July 19 meeting, District 15 school board President Dr. Asher
Mansdorf said the district's lawyers had advised the board to abandon the
second proposition, expressing concerns that it was too vague about how the
money would be spent. "I think it goes beyond frivolous - it's thoughtless,"
Mansdorf said of the petition to halt the Aug. 7 vote. "As far as how it
affects children, I think it's malicious."
The referendum is necessary because under state law, public approval is
required whenever school property is sold, according to the district's
lawyers. Mansdorf said that even though there would not be a capital reserve
fund proposition on the ballot, the board would still have discretion to
determine what emergency building repairs are needed at the district's
facilities.
"There is enough ... money to fulfill the needs of all segments of the
community," Mansdorf said.
Jonathan Burman of the State Education Department, where the petition
was sent, would not comment on the suit, but did say that the state
education commissioner would rule on the suit fairly quickly given the
approaching referendum.
A subcommittee made up of school board members Pam Greenbaum, Dr. David
Sussman and Murray Forman and Lawrence Athletic Director Patrick Pizzarelli
was created at the July 19 meeting to study the specific building needs in
the district, which could be included in a future referendum for the capital
reserve fund. Voters twice rejected a $20 million "nuts and bolts" bond
proposal in 2003 that would have addressed the "bare essential needs" of the
district's buildings. A capital reserve fund proposal also failed on May 16,
2006 - the same day the proposed budget was also defeated, forcing the
district to work with a contingency budget for a fourth straight year.
"I am voting for Proposition 1 because I think we caught a window where
we were able to appreciate a value on that building that we otherwise would
not have had we not caught that window," said Mansdorf.
Some residents have expressed fears that Neuberg will decide not to
construct luxury condos and instead sell the property to the Hebrew Academy
of Long Beach so its elementary school yeshiva could move from Long Beach to
Lawrence, which would mean the property would be kept off the tax rolls.
However, district officials have said that a provision was agreed on in the
contract with Neuberg to ensure that if any changes were made, the property
would remain on the tax rolls. HALB officials have denied the rumor that
they would purchase the property. Neuberg could not be reached for comment.
"I don't have any concerns about it at all," Mansdorf said of the HALB
rumors, adding that the developer has spent money on plans for the
condominiums, paid for an environmental study and worked with the village on
obtaining variances for the project.
An appraisal conducted last year determined that the former Number One
School property was worth roughly $15 million. Neuberg signed the deal
during a Lawrence village moratorium on projects requiring high water usage,
which has been in place since September, but district officials have
indicated that the developer is willing to work with the village to help
resolve the issue. Lawrence village officials are in the process of trying
to determine how best to increase the capacity of the village's water
pollution control plant in order to lift the moratorium.
Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown said village officials are moving
closer to a solution on the moratorium, with an outside consultant recently
outlining guidelines and recommendations on how to increase the plant's
capacity. Levenbrown said the village's engineering firm, Cameron
Engineering, will now examine the recommendations and hope to come up with a
plan shortly. "Most people that I speak to say they want luxury
apartments on that site, and I agree that we do need them," said Levenbrown
of Neuberg's proposal.
Voting on the referendum to approve the sale of the property is
scheduled for Monday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Lawrence Middle School,
Atlantic Beach Village Hall, the Number Two School in Inwood, the Number Six
School in Woodmere and Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
