Good fences do not always make good neighbors – at least in Great Neck.
For more than 40 years, a path between 19 and 21 Schenck Ave. connected the apartment-lined street to shops on nearby Welwyn Road, including a U.S. Post Office and kosher grocery store.
Today, an electronic gate blocks it from being used as an outlet for all but residents of co-ops at 19 Schenck, 10 Welwyn, and 8 Welwyn, forcing elderly and infirm residents of rent controlled 21 Schenck Ave. to walk three long blocks to get to the store.
When Mike Halpin began fighting the gate four years ago, he was simply trying to help his neighbors.
Diagnosed a year ago with multiple system atrophy, a rare degenerative condition with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s Disease, today the 67-year-old Vietnam vet and retired special education teacher is one of those who needs the path.
It was closed off to the general public a couple of years ago due to noise and people who did not clean up after their dogs, said building manager Darah Houlihan.
“That’s another issue they don’t understand because they’re renters, that we made an investment,” said a co-op owner who asked her name be withheld. “They live in a rent-controlled building. They’ve lived there for 20 years and they pay no rent.”
She said the insurance liability was also a concern.
“Why should we have to pick up their dog waste?” she asked. “There’s people going through constantly. It’s like a thoroughfare. Would they want us walking through their property if we felt like talking a shortcut to Gilchrest? Of course not.”
Halpin said dog waste is a very small issue.
“I may have six months to live, but I will take care of the dogs,” he said.
Halpin’s body is not what it used to be. He is deaf in one ear, has glaucoma in one eye, a defibrillator, and small fiber neuropathy, a painful nerve disorder. When he gets overexcited his defibrillator fires, a process that forces him down to one knee.
The small apartment he shares with his wife of 42 years, 63-year-old Nancy Halpin, overlooks the pathway and U.S. Post Office.
They have the kind of marriage that is easily admired, laughing often and trading high fives to keep up their spirits.
“You know what I find amazing,” Nancy said. “Over the years, he’s been losing pieces of himself, but it doesn’t phase him.”
Halpin’s four-year campaign to unlock the gate found him writing letters to local attorneys and every government agency that would listen. So far few have been willing or able to help.
After promising Nancy he would give up the fight – Halpin has been in and out of the hospital all year – he surreptitiously contacted attorney and former 5th District congressional candidate Liz Berney. According to her research, the public has the right to use the pathway under a legal principal known as prescriptive easement.
The Halpins believe the argument could win in court, but do not have the money to hire a lawyer. Berney said she would help if she were able.
“I think if somebody is wealthy, or somebody who is an attorney at the end of their career, they could take it up and they could win because Mike has to give it up,” Nancy said.
Representatives from the co-op, Village Gardens Owners Corporation, have been unable to find a compromise. Meetings that took place several years ago between Village of Great Neck Plaza trustees and the board of directors yielded no solution.
After pleas for help from residents of 21 Schenck Ave. at a Village of Great Neck Plaza trustee meeting June 1, trustees reached out to the board of directors to set up a meeting, said Trustee Gerry Schneiderman. As of press time the offer has not been accepted. Suggestions from trustees include issuing electronic keys to residents of other buildings at a cost that would cover higher insurance premiums.
Schneiderman said some co-op owners must support access to the pathway. The gate was first installed with a key system. A short time later “everyone” in the neighborhood had a key.
On a warm June day, the Halpins prepare for a walk down the path. Although it is accessible to the general public from Schenck Avenue, an electronic gate blocks Welwyn.
The short trip requires careful preparation. Nancy pours oyster crackers and pretzels into a ziplock bag. The salt helps keep Halpin’s blood pressure from falling dangerously low.
“He was always athletic,” Nancy said. “I never was. I was just happy if I could get to wherever we were going, so it’s weird now for him to tell me to slow down.”
Taking slight advantage of the trip, Halpin stops to greet 91-year-old Herb Lytton, the informal mayor of 21Schenck. Lytton agrees to join the Halpins on their stroll.
“If I had trouble walking, I’d really be in trouble,” Lytton said. “It’s just unimaginable that somebody could take something like this away.”
The men walk slowly while Nancy watches.
“They make me very nervous,” she said. “Ok, no more steps.”
Nancy walks back to Schenck quickly, where she waits for the men. It is the talking that worries her. The simple tasks are something Halpin’s body cannot handle simultaneously.
“Mike has given them so much hope,” she said. “He’s a bright guy and he’s willing to do all the work. They look up to him like a savior. He’s always been like that. When something is right, it’s right.”
He once ran for president just to make a point.
“I was teaching high school then,” he said. “I spent $26 on the campaign.”
It was during the 2000 presidential campaign. He ran on a platform of ending the war and spending more money on infrastructure. His efforts earned him six votes.
“People vote for someone they feel is going to win,” he said. “They feel that vote counts that way. Anybody can run for president. You can run, but you won’t be heard.”
When they met, fresh from Vietnam, Halpin was a very angry young man. He had signed up in 1964, before the U.S. troop buildup.
“I was determined to make him laugh,” Nancy said.
After 25 years as a UPS driver, for health reasons and to help put four kids through college, Halpin retired to become a New York City teacher. What hurt most about his illness was having to give up his volunteer work with the Red Cross.
“I was down in Hurricane Ike,” he said. “But I’m hell in a wheelchair.”
