A house at the corner of Essex Road and Croyden Avenue in Great Neck was torn down last Tuesday night – but the developers had only received a green light for remodeling one floor and adding a second.
A building permit was issued on Nov. 26 allowing Ehsan Elnaghave to “enlarge and alter [the] existing first floor and add second floor” of 66 Essex Road, according to paperwork filed with the Village of Great Neck. There was no record of a demolition permit for the property.
The home in question was a one-story single-family residence built in 1951, according to Nassau County land records.
A resident living near the property, who requested anonymity, said via email the “proper procedures” were not followed, expressed concern about environmental hazards related to the demolition and said that the neighbors were “entitled to advance notice.”
“What of the neighbors who live on this tightly crowded block?” the neighbor wrote. “They mistakenly believed everything was in order and didn’t question anything. What if all contractors use this unorthodox method to get their way in demolitioning and further destroying our community and its charm?”
The contractor, Best NY Construction Inc., could not be reached for comment as “all circuits were busy” on Tuesday and Wednesday. Elnaghave could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. Len Baron, the superintendent of the village’s Building Department, did not respond to requests for comment.
Joe Gill, the village clerk-treasurer, said the Building Department “is aware of the activity on the site and taking appropriate action.”
This action will include giving a summons to the contractor and requiring the homeowner to “get the appropriate permits,” he said.
“This is not the first time ever this has happened,” Gill said. “It happens from time to time.”
Asked about the process or if there was a miscommunication, Darrell Morrow, an attorney for the Village of Great Neck, said the village has no comment.
“The village is taking the position of no comment on this matter,” Morrow said. “I’m not at liberty to speak about it at this time.”
I don’t think your article reflects the full extent of the environmental impact on the neighborhood without mentioning that on the opposite side of the crossing two big houses are already in construction and these three simultaneous constructions are across Memorial Fields Playground. The Memorial Fields Playground offers (aside picnic tables) the only public restrooms in the neighborhood and is the place of regular gathering of the school buses. As a result a quite crossing became a busy traffic spot with school busses and heavy construction trucks roaring and fuming the diesel motors.
And BTW all trees were cut on the lot before demolishing the house too. But that seems to be the new standard in the Village.