Former Roslyn Country Club President Andrew Rothstein of Roslyn Heights said all he wants is the club back.
Rothstein, who was president of the 7.2-acre Roslyn Country Club until June 2007, said he was still heavily involved as the club began to deteriorate before owner Manouchehr Malekan, through Corona Realty Holdings of Mineola, brought a suit against residents in an attempt to extinguish their rights to the club, which was eventually thrown out.
“The last time it was open was 2006, but I wouldn’t call it usable,” Rothstein said. “He ran it like a slumlord. On a holiday weekend, there’d be one staff member in the entire facility. I suspect he did that intentionally to get people to stop going, to wear us down. I can’t read minds, I don’t know his motivation, but I saw how the club was run.”
In response, hundreds of residents countersued Malekan for the club to be open and functioning. Malekan officially closed the club in 2008.
Rothstein’s case, which will be heard in Nassau Supreme Court on Tuesday, is the final legal step before the town could possibly take over the Roslyn Country Club property — a plot the town has tried to acquire since 2013.
“There’s an easement that everyone in the neighborhood owns to use the property dating back to the Levitt years, and he has an obligation to operate it,” Rothstein said. “He sued me. I’m in court because he closed down my club and sued me for money. His case was dismissed immediately. We just counter claimed to get the club opened, which is where it is now.”
Rothstein said the Town of North Hempstead had an agreement with Malekan that if all of the lawsuits between the owner and the residents were dropped, the town would take over the club. Two years ago, Rothstein said, he wrote to the town that if it bought the property, he would drop the counterclaim suit immediately.
“It’s unfortunate that the town got involved and got all my neighbors’ cases dismissed but they have nothing to show for it,” Rothstein said. “There’s still me, but I’d rather not be alone. All I want is the club.”
In October, the Town Board voted unanimously to authorize litigation against Corona Realty Holdings and Malekan, hiring Uniondale-based Harris Beach PLLC for $15,000.
Town Councilman Peter Zuckerman said the town is working toward taking ownership of the recreational portion of the property, including the dilapidated pool and tennis courts behind The Royalton at Roslyn Country Club, which is still open for catering and event rentals.
“The goal of this lawsuit is to facilitate and re-engage the contract so we can purchase the property. Unfortunately, Corona Realty has been unresponsive to us in our efforts to re-engage them,” Zuckerman said in a previous interview. “This is part of the heart and soul of the Roslyn Country Club. We want to deliver this jewel back to the Roslyn Country Club community, and we believe that this litigation will help us move in that direction.”
Attempts to reach Zuckerman and Malekan were unavailing.
