By John C. O'Connell
The sale had been temporarily halted by a court challenge brought by 10 East Realty Corp. LLC, a company consisting of the owners of the office building at 10 East Merrick Rd., next to the 24-space parking lot the village is selling.
The Village Board of Trustees voted in April to sell the lot for $275,000 to B&B Coverage Ltd., a property and casualty insurance firm with a financial services division. The company has offices in Valley Stream and Lynbrook.
10 East Realty filed a plaintiff's motion, known as an order to show cause, seeking both a preliminary and a permanent injunction barring the sale. It named as defendants both the village and 1 E. Lincoln Corp., the realty company of B&B Insurance.
Jordan Hyman, 10 East Realty's attorney, said his client opposed the sale because tenants in that building use the lot, the lot is a public trust property and can't be sold to a private entity without state approval, and it is too valuable an asset to residents and local merchants.
While documents of the court's ruling were still in the mail, Village Attorney Michael McKenna announced at Monday night's Village board meeting that New York State Supreme Court Judge Bruce Alpert's secretary had called at 4:30 that afternoon to announce the judge's decision to dismiss the case.
Supported by the court's judgment, the Village board approved a resolution to enter into a mortgage with 1 E. Lincoln Corp. for $275,000 for 15 years at five percent per year.
But Hyman, who received a copy of the decision late Tuesday, said not so fast. He said the judge's decision was based on a technical, procedural issue. "While we respectfully disagree with the ruling," Hyman said, "the court did not address the merits of the case. It did not address whether this transaction is legal under state or village law. The decision [was made] merely on technical grounds, which leaves a lot of legal maneuvering on both sides of the case. We're still free to challenge [on] the merits of our position. We're looking at all our options, and one of them is an appeal of this decision."
