Steamboat Road development criticized in Village of Great Neck

Joe Nikic

The Village of Great Neck department of public works deputy superintendent on Tuesday called on the Board of Trustees to halt construction at a housing development on Steamboat Road because he said project developer Hooshang Netmatzadeh had failed to build according to plans approved by the village’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

James Neubert, who lives next to the development at 85-95 Steamboat Road, said Netmatzadeh’s failure to adhere to the building plans has caused quality of life issues for him and his neighbors.

“Ultimately what I’m asking for is a survey to be done by the builder and if the property and footprint of this building is not where its supposed to be, the project should be stopped immediately,” Neubert said. “This guy should stop work immediately and nothing should be done until this work is correct.”

Neubert also said a 10-foot wall has been constructed in his backyard that was closer to his property than the two feet approved by the village.

“They told me I would have covering bushes and a fence there, but there’s only 17 inches there,” Neubert said. “How am I going to have any kind of shrubbery or fence to provide me any coverage to cover this huge wall that’s in my backyard?”

Netmatzadeh said in a phone interview that the wall was constructed as a separation between properties that would not be seen once the project is completed.

“The walls they are talking about are just a separation wall between the properties,” he said. “Once the property comes to grade, they will not see those walls.”

Netmatzadeh, who is a Village of Kings Point trustees and is the former president of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce, also said he was given a list of work by Building Department Superintendent Bob Barbach that did not follow building plans and he was making changes to bring the project into compliance.

Barbach said the village granted Nematzadeh a six-month extension on his building permit two months ago to address building department concerns, for which he was charged $18,000.

Neubert said the village should not extend the permit further if the builder continues to construct against accepted plans.

“I might be out of line, but you can’t extend permits if the person is just going out and doing what he wants,” he said. “At some point, you have to hold this person accountable for what he’s doing.”

Barbach called the development a “monstrosity,” saying that when he began working at the village almost two years ago, there were already significant issues with its construction.

He also said he had submitted to the developer a list of 30 items that were not conforming to accepted plans that needed to be changed by the end of six-month permit extension, but he was “not seeing the type of progress that one would expect.”

Nematzadeh said most of the items he received from Barbach have been addressed and he will continue to address the remaining concerns.

“We will make every effort to make sure the property is in accordance to all the plans,” he said.

Barbach said the development’s foundation had been built incorrectly, which caused both a roadway and sidewalk to collapse near the project.

While many people ask to give the developer violations, he said, the building department cannot give violations for misconstruction.

“When you don’t build what’s on the drawings, we make you change what you built to match the drawings or we send you back to the board to approve the changes,” Barbach said. “Our job is to get conformity.”

He also said the developer had asked if they could complete construction and then submit “as-built” plans to the building department, but he refused to accept.

“This building department does not condone that process,” he said. “This building department says we want drawings so we can go out and inspect what you built, and if the two don’t match, you’re either going to change the plans or change the construction.”

Village Clerk-Treasurer Joe Gill said if construction continues as is, the building would not conform to the village’s zoning code once completed.

Barbach said if the project is completed not according to plan, the building department would not issue a certificate of occupancy.

“That is our process,” he said. “That is actually due process. I can’t do anything better than that.”

Nematzadeh said the development would have a positive impact on the village and surrounding community.

“They used to congregate on those corners and there used to be all kinds of illegal activities,” he said. “Since this project was enacted, all of those things ceased to exist.”

Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral said the building department would continue to properly address issues as they arise with the development.

“I don’t think it’s going to go away,” Bral said. “I’m sure the building department is doing what it can to make sure things aren’t done illegally or things that are not on the plan.”

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