A month after Haven Marina residents filed a lawsuit against the landlord, Michael Boromand, both parties are working to reach an agreement, a lawyer representing the houseboat residents said on Tuesday.
“We’re hoping to get to where we need to go,” said the lawyer, Michael Frevola of Holland & Knight LLP.
He added that although he can’t discuss the possible terms, the “tenants are probably going to have to move.”
Although the trial is set for July 26 at Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, Frevola said the parties are trying to reach an agreement before then.
Seven Haven Marina houseboat residents, Arthur Fishbein, Edward Merkel, George Wendt, Peter Mohan, Nick Cyprus, Kathleen Sutherland and Allan Glasser, filed a lawsuit against Haven Realty seeking to prevent Boromand from evicting them.
Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Daniel Palmieri on May 16 issued a temporary restraining order barring Boromand from trying to evict residents.
Houseboat residents said there was a sign posted at the marina telling residents to vacate the area.
Haven Marina’s attorney, Anthony Placentini, said Boromand and a Haven Marina co-owner, Ed Mayourian, a developer, want their property cleared of boats to build waterfront condominiums.
“We’re hoping to settle this matter,” Placentini said.
The approximately 30 houseboat residents residing at Haven Marina in Port Washington woke up on May 6 to no electricity and no water, forcing them to use gas-powered generators.
Manorhaven village officials said at a planning meeting on May 9 that the power outage was the result of vandalism at the marina, which is located at 12 Matinicock Ave. in Port Washington.
Since the power outage, electricity has not been restored to the houseboats.
Nassau County fire marshals have issued a violation to Boromand due to the conditions.
“We found there were violations, electrical violations and propane gas usage. In our opinion these are unsafe conditions for how they are stored,” Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Mike Uttaro said.
Village Attorney James Toner said electricity has be restored to the marina, but not to the houseboats, which are awaiting inspection.
He added that the majority of the boats will not meet the required code and that what started out as an alleged act of vandalism has “spiraled down to a safety issue.”
“I think ultimately the marina has to be shut down,” Toner said.
Sutherland said she’s already in the process of looking for a new apartment for her husband, son and herself.
“I mean what are you going to do? It’s hard,” she said.
