The present economic decline in America has devastated many families. One such example was shown on TV on “Dateline NBC,” “Saving a home from foreclosure.” The saving didn’t happen.
The husband owned a small construction company earning $15,000 per month. Business, unfortunately, slowly died due to whatever forces are killing jobs in America.
First, he had to lay off the few employees he had. His RV and car were repossessed. The house was foreclosed on. His wife and he divorced. It was not a pretty ending to his marriage and business.
This leads me to the saga playing out on Sumter Avenue in East Williston – another not so pretty story.
What if all involved simply thought about the jobs that would be created if this sacrosanct code of 60-feet of frontage was tabled or ignored for this once in a lifetime isolated project? Are you kidding me?
Fifty-five feet against 60 feet, 2.5 feet on either side of each house. It is my understanding that houses in East Williston do have frontage less than 60 feet as they were built before the new code was implemented. What a calamity. The decision on whether to attack Syria pales in comparison.
If BNL Construction built two houses, it would hire carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painters and other tradesmen. The houses will enhance the beauty of the street and will more than likely raise the value of all the other houses on the street.
The really big bonus would be getting rid of the eyesore that exists. Further adding to the GDP would be the purchase of appliances, lighting, carpeting, etc. Hopefully, BNL would make a profit and put some of it back into the economy on another construction project here on Long Island.
There are 16 liens on the property of $200,000. Assuming some of this loot is for back taxes, the village would benefit. And as reported, BNL would pick up this tab. It seems like they are the good guys in this drama, and no, I have no idea who these people are.
If BNL was awarded this property, the village would not have to decide whether or not to spend $60,000 to demolish the building or have anything to do with the renovation effort which the owner would have had to pay for. I do not know the owner of this property nor have any idea about the status of his finances or why the property was neglected.
To quote Hillary Clinton on Benghazi, “At this point in time what difference does it make?” Let him sell to BNL and he is out of the picture forever.
To those who said allowing him to sell would reward him for failing to maintain his property, I say to you, get real and end this nonsense. Do you get pleasure from cutting off your nose to spite your face? Just asking.
Jim Messina
East Williston
