The East Williston Village Board is poised to demolish an abandoned house at 8 Sumter Avenue after the village Planning Board denied an application from a contractor to subdivide the property and build two houses on it.
“It’s simple math. At the moment, according to the bids we received, that is the logical choice,” said East Williston Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente. “We had already said that based on the initial bids that demolition is preferable to rebuilding.”
The planning board’s 4-1 vote to deny the subdivision application put an end to BNL’s plan to redevelop the property, according to the developers of the proposed subdivision.
BNL partners Luigi and Bruno Calleo said they could not realize a profit from building a single house on the property.
“It’s dead at this point,” Luigi Calleo said after the planning board vote. “The value of the single lot is not the value of the double lot.”
The village board had solicited bids on demolishing or refurbishing the dilapidated house on the property early this year and received one from Colonial Crafters in Williston Park. Colonial Crafters offered a bid in January of $30,000 to demolish the house, not including the cost of removing asbestos and raccoons that are inhabiting the structure, or $320,000 to refurbish it, according to Villlage Clerk Marie Hausner.
Village officials have said the total cost of demolishing the property would be approximately $60,000.
The board received a ruling in Nassau Supreme Court last year following a protracted court battle with John Muzio, owner of the Sumter Avenue house, giving the village the right to demolish or refurbish the house.
East Williston Mayor David Tanner declined to comment on what action he thinks the village board should take, but indicated cost would be a determining factor.
“It’s all in the numbers at this point. I don’t want to project what the numbers will be,” Tanner said.
Tanner has said the village will seek to recoup the cost of demolishing or rebuilding the house from Muzio and is confident that the village will be reimbursed.
The Calleos said Muzio told them he would not sell the property without the subdivision approval.
Attempts to reach Muzio for comment were unavailing.
The village board had delayed a decision pending the planning board’s decision.
The house on the property has fallen into disrepair and has been uninhabited for years – except for raccoons – has been a frequent source of complaints from neighbors.
The Colonial Crafters bid has expired, according to village officials. So at its Monday night work session last week, the village board agreed to solicit bids if the subdivision was denied by the planning board’s at its Tuesday night meeting. Hausner said the village board will issue a request for proposals for bids on the Sumter Avenue project next week with a deadline of Sept. 19.
“We’re starting the preliminary process on putting together bid documents on demolition or refurbishing of the property,” Tanner said.
In January, village attorney Jeffrey Blinkoff said the court’s charge to the village was “to make repairs to make [the house] stable” or to raze it.
Village Trustee Robert Vella Jr. also declined to comment on what option the village board should choose.
“It’s been our intention all the while to do what’s in our legal right according to the court’s decision to protect the interests of the community and residents who are affected by the condition of the house at 8 Sumter,” Vella said.
Kevin Walsh, a lawyer representing BNL Construction in its application to the village planning board said after July hearing there are 16 liens on the 8 Sumter Avenue property totaling approximately $200,000 as of May. He said BNL would have paid those liens as part of its purchase agreement.
