Town OK’s Roslyn Heights Park District

Bill San Antonio

The North Hempstead town board approved the establishment of the Roslyn Heights Park District on Tuesday but voted to table resolutions regarding the sale of the 7.3-acre property and a $7.5 million bond to renovate to the property’s pool and tennis courts until its next meeting Sept. 10.

Though the board had previously authorized Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman to sign the $2 million contract to purchase the former Roslyn Country Club from owner Manoucher Malekan, Kaiman said it would be “a better practice” for the board to review the full terms of the contract before he signed it. Council members Dina De Giorgio and Viviana Russell were not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Because the board waited to ratify the contract, it did not approve a proposed $7.5 million bond to refurbish the park district’s pool and tennis courts, which had fallen into disrepair.

“The creation of the district was important to be acknowledged today because it allows us to move forward with some of the other pieces of this, but without the contract being voted on, it does create some other issues,” Kaiman said.

Under the agreement with the town, Malekan will retain ownership of the Royalton at Roslyn Heights, a catering facility on 2.7 acres of the property. Malekan shuttered the recreation facilities several years ago in a dispute with residents over access fees. 

The board voted to create a special park district and to renovate the Roslyn Country Club recreation facilities in December 2012. The board had voted to purchase the property from Malekan using a town environmental legacy fund in June 2012.

Kaiman and Town Councilman Thomas Dwyer developed the special district concept after civic association leaders from communities outside Roslyn Heights filed petitions for a referendum challenging a town council vote to create a town park on the site.

“We now have a contract signed by Manny Malekan,” Dwyer said. “We’ve been waiting on that for a long time.”

Town officials have said residents in the park district will pay an average of $800 to $1,000 per year for the debt service on the $7.5 million bond to renovate the pool and tennis courts now in disrepair.

Kaiman said the town had reached an agreement with Malekan regarding the basic terms of the contract, but minor changes were made to the agreement which had not been reviewed by either De Giorgio or Russell in time for the meeting. 

Though Malekan asked the board prohibit the property’s commercial zoning from ever being changed, Kaiman instead proposed a clause in which the board would agree not to change the zoning for 20 years. 

Kaiman said the clause was not binding and could be changed at any time with the consent of Malekan and the board, but Malekan would be able to sue the district for the resulting difference in the property value if the board were to rezone the property without his consent. 

The board had attempted to rezone the property three times as a historic district, but was unsuccessful each time, Kaiman said.

“That battle has been fought out,” Kaiman said.

The original Roslyn Country Club development, built by Levitt & Sons in the 1950s, provided easement rights for access to recreation facilities to 668 homeowners for an annual fee of $100 for each household. 

Kaiman said the contract would extinguish those easements within three years, making the park area open to anyone paying taxes within the Town of North Hempstead and the pool area open to those living within the park district. North Hempstead residents would be able to join the pool and will be able to use the tennis courts for a fee that Kaiman said has not yet been determined.

In a letter presented to the board during the meeting, De Giorgio said she supported the establishment of the park district but opposed extinguishing the easements, saying the town could be held financially responsible for homeowners who claim they are entitled to damages or value for their easements.

But Kaiman said the possible legal risks should not prevent a decision from being made.

“Every contract one enters into has a degree of risk, and every contract puts the town subject to litigation,” Kaiman said. “Our obligation is to make the best effort to properly serve our community and do so in a manner that results in the quality of life being improved, that shows our finances are being handled wisely and that the processes by which we operate are fair and the result is this town has had great success in almost all the endeavors we’ve pursued.” 

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