Developer Frank Lalezarian and a proposal to build 12 homes at 100 Clover Drive by a company he owns came under sharp attack at a Great Neck Village Zoning Board of Appeals meeting Thursday by residents who challenged the developer’s track record and the environmental safety of his plan.
“The issue is not the rules and regulations of the environmental impact but Lalezarian’s track record with disregard to the environment and neighbors when building,” said James P. McAward of Great Neck Village.
McAward said Lalezarian has a track record of negligence and dangerous construction, charging that there had been more than 180 building violations at Lalezarian sites which have resulted in more than $100,000 in penalties for contractors at those sites since 2008.
Other residents used the public hearing to attack environmental concerns regarding Lalezarian’s plan.
“The way the water flows underneath us is seriously disrupted by things we construct,” said longtime local resident Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar, concerned that Lalezarian’s proposed project could negatively impact the peninsula.
Paul Bloom, Lalezarian’s attorney, said negative statements by residents were not motivated by a “true concern for environment or impact” but as an attempt to defeat the 12-home residential development project for “selfish” purposes.
“This is not the Empire State Building which is being constructed in someone’s backyard,” said Bloom, who asked the board to refocus.
Calling the discussion a “Christmas tree,” Bloom said the scoping procedure was getting lost in the mix from “overkill” by the board and negative comments from residents attempting to derail the project.
“Everybody wants to put a little ornament on that tree. And what’s the goal? The goal is that tree is going to fall,” said Bloom.
Zoning Board Chairman Dennis Grossman ended the exchange with a demand that the discussion return to the subject of the meeting – the environmental impact statement.
“I’ve heard enough name calling on all sides,” said Grossman. We are “only interested in substance, facts and doing the job that we have before us.”
The state Department of Environmental Conservation Department, which implements the National Environmental Protection Act, requires land use applications to examine their environmental impacts, according to Great Neck Village attorney Stephan G. Limmer.
The board unanimously voted to adopt a scope of items to be included in an environmental impact statement – namely traffic, slope of the land and drainage issues which have been raised.
For Lalezarian, the Jan. 6 meeting in Great Neck Village was the culmination of a busy week.
Last Wednesday, a team of lawyers, architects and family members accompanied him to a meeting of the Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees to consider a separate application and site proposal for a Lalezarian-owned multi-dwelling residential building at 245-265 Great Neck Road.
Lalezarian did not speak publicly at either meeting.
