By Scott Brintony:
The average Merrick yard measures roughly 40x100 to 60x100 feet.
Fox is furious over the June 25 incident because the driver and a crew of men toppled numerous trees while clearing the property, sending birds and small animals scurrying into the backyards of nearby homes.
As president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association, Fox watches over the forest, which he says the association and town tacitly understand to be a nature preserve. Town officials say the property is not designated as a preserve, but Hempstead has no plans for it and will keep it wild, at least for now.
Fox now wants the Town of Hempstead to restore the trees and shrubbery that were destroyed and to pursue a criminal investigation of what appears to be a case of breaking and entering onto town land, as well as destruction of government property.
The civic activist would also like the town to declare the land as a preserve and keep it full of trees and underbrush, as it provides a natural barrier between the Merrick train-station parking lots just to the south and the Maiciola Ranches neighborhood where he lives.
Fox said that he called police to report the 4 p.m. clearing incident and was told that town officials had to make that call, because Hempstead owns the property.
The activist said that, at first at least, town officials hesitated to undertake a criminal investigation.
After calls by the Herald on Friday, Hempstead spokesperson Michael Deery said the town would call on police to investigate the case, and that it would return the property to its natural state.
Deery said, "The town does plan to restore the growth that had been disturbed or cleared, and we will be working with the police department to find out who had entered the property without authorization. We will also take any appropriate steps we can to protect the property and prevent any further damage from taking place."
Ownership questions
Fox said that he halted the crew by threatening to call Nassau County police. The civic activist isn't sure how much of the land the men would have cleared if they were not stopped. The property runs east for more than a quarter-mile to Smith's Pond.
The crew spoke only Italian and broken English. So, talking with them proved difficult for Fox. He asked the men who gave them permission to enter the property. They then presented the business card of Constance Klein, a licensed real-estate broker from Bellmore.
Fox hurried to the nearby home of Gasper Gulotta, cousin of former Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta. Gasper Gulotta, who is fluent in Italian, translated for the civic activist.
Through Gulotta, Fox told the men: "This is Town of Hempstead property. You just can't come in and do this."
The men, who in addition to the bulldozer brought a white flat-bed and dump truck, said they were clearing the land so they could park their concrete trucks and heavy machinery.
The men told Fox they didn't want any trouble. "They said we're leaving. This is a mistake," according to Fox. And they drove off, without giving their names.
In a phone interview, Klein said she gave the men the OK to enter the property, although not Town of Hempstead land, but rather a small strip of woods between the town's property and homes along Seneca Drive South.
According to Fox, a Baldwin-based attorney owns the parcel. The attorney, who could not be reached for comment, has not paid taxes on the property dating back to the mid-1980s, but has retained ownership of the land because Nassau County continues to sell tax-lien certificates on it, Fox said. According to a title search of the land, the property was in arrears for unpaid taxes in 1986, '87, '92, '94, '97, 2000, '01.
Fox also said the attorney's land can't be used for much, because there is no driveway curb cut leading into it. Town code requires a curb cut for the property, which is zoned Residential B, in order for any structures to be built there, according to Fox.
Klein said the Baldwin attorney does not own the land. She is "helping" a group of 10 to 15 people who purchased the tax-lien certificates for the property. They, she said, have formed New Woods 6 Corporation. Klein would not say exactly what she meant by "helping." She noted, though, "I wouldn't call it representing." She also said she did not own a stake in the corporation.
Klein said she had no idea the men would clear the land, nor did she know for what purpose they would use the property. "They could be planting a garden. They could be growing vegetables. I didn't send anybody to clear it," she said.
Klein did say, "If these people were on the wrong property, that could be," referring to the Town of Hempstead land. She then added, "If we're on the wrong piece [of property], we'll be on the right piece" in the future.
Klein said they would return, although she would not specify who "they" were, nor would she say for what purpose "they" would come back.
Later during the interview, Klein said she was looking into what could be done with the property. "I don't know what I have the legal right to do," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do." She was also waiting to hear from the Town of Hempstead attorney to see whether the cleared land was, in fact, town property.
According to Deery, the land is town-owned, as confirmed by county and town tax maps and Hempstead inspectors who visited the site.
Residents angry
Gasper Gulotta, who moved to Seneca Drive South two years ago, said that he and his wife had looked into buying the Baldwin attorney's property, which abuts their own, and extending their backyard. The couple were angry when they heard anyone was seeking to turn the land into a parking lot for heavy machinery. "You're talking diesel trucks, and these contractors leave 5 a.m. in the morning," said Gasper Gulotta.
Marilyn Gulotta, Gasper's wife, said she was horrified when she saw the cleared property. "It was all terribly disturbed," she said, referring to the natural habitat that served as a home for numerous species of birds.
Richard Mason, who lives next door to the Gulottas, said, "If Barry [Fox] had not caught them [the crew], I don't know how much damage they would have done."
He added, "I certainly would not want to have a home that backed onto a parking lot."
Fox is planning an emergency meeting Aug. 5 with homeowners whose properties border the land in question. "The neighbors are extremely upset..." said Fox. "We expect the town to take the severest action to prevent something like this from ever happening again."
Fox added that he called Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), who said he would become involved in the case.
The legislator said that he would push to have the property transferred from Hempstead Town to Nassau County, so that it could be "perpetually preserved." The town now has no law allowing for perpetual preservation of a property, but the county has such a law, Denenberg said.
He also said that he alerted First Precinct police about the clearing incident, and they would step up patrols in the area.
