Neighbors Take Fight to Supreme Court

Story by Jeff Lipton

Residents opposed to the construction of a 10-unit condominium and restaurant complex next to the Allegria Hotel have taken their fight to the Supreme Court, arguing that the excess traffic congestion would strangle their community.

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The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals approved the mixed-use development on a vacant lot at 50 W. Broadway in December, despite stiff opposition from neighbors. Developers Jan Burman and Steven Krieger of the Engel Burman Group applied for a zoning variance in October, only days before Hurricane Sandy.

Residents believe the arrival of the Allegria hotel about 3 years ago was a game-changer to the neighborhood, saying the traffic congestion and competition for the limited on-street parking has crippled the area.

"The hunt for the elusive on street parking spot in this area and the ensuing traffic snarls illustrate the danger caused by too many people and two many cars in an already congested area,” said Mona Goodman, the former councilwoman who lives across from the proposed construction site.

Opponents said the project is planned to be built on 17,000 square feet when this type of mixed use development – a 10-unit condo and 42-seat restaurant – should be set on a 150,000 square foot plot of land.

"The size of the parcel of land is woefully inadequate according to the zoning code,” said Goodman, who submitted to the city a petition bearing the names of 225 residents opposed to the project.

Attorney Denis Kelly is representing Goodman and two of her neighbors in the Supreme Court case in a bid to overturn the zoning board’s decision.

“They are looking to put a tower on a postage stamp-size piece of property,” said Kelly, who added that the zoning board chose to ignore the traffic and parking concerns of neighbors. “This is beyond unreasonable.”

The Engel Burman Group, under the limited liability company BK @ Long Beach, purchased the vacant property for $4.6 million and proposed the 127-foot-tall mixed-use building with a boardwalk-level restaurant. One condo unit would be built on each floor and contain 2,700 square feet of living space. Each unit would contain three bedrooms and three baths and have a spacious terrace and panoramic beach views. The condos would start at $2 million apiece.

The ground floor would provide 25 parking spots, which neighbors said is not nearly enough to handle the expected traffic the new project would draw.

Kelly said that since this area is the hub for mostly all activities in town, such as arts and crafts shows and fireworks displays, the congestion would create a nightmare scenario for residents.

“It would be crazy and chaotic and this is just an inappropriate place to put a project like that,” said Kelly, a former councilman and zoning board trustee.

But developers said increased traffic concerns are a non-issue since mainly beach and boardwalk users and neighborhood residents would patronize the restaurant.

“There are no restaurants on the entire boardwalk,” said Burman. “It’s for people looking for a place to get food.”

Burman called the traffic and parking issue a “red herring” for neighbors looking for any reason to oppose it.

“It’s hard to understand how an additional 10 units could ruin an entire neighborhood,” Burman said. “What are they arguing about, traffic? It makes no sense. I could understand if we were proposing to build a hotel. Whatever traffic our project would create would not even register a tiny, tiny bit.”

He said he hopes to start construction by the summer if the Supreme Court upholds the zoning board decision.

“We’re pretty confident the decision will stand,” Burman said.

Opponents requested a temporary restraining order to stop the project, but that has been denied, Kelly said. The paperwork has been filed and the case is now before Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Angela G. Iannacci, who could issue a written decision or call both parties before the court to argue the case. Kelly agreed that it’s a huge task to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the zoning board’s ruling because the court usually defers to the local governing body.

At the October zoning board hearing, Norm Brodsky, who supports the project, said he plans to purchase one of the units, in part, because it’s difficult to find a comparable three-bedroom condo in a beachside building on Long Island.

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