Residents Want Canals’ Open Space Preserved

Story by Jeff Lipton 

About 25 years ago Richard Young fought the development of his Canals neighborhood by winning a zoning change to stop the subdivision of homes. As property owners scramble to rebuild in the aftermath of Sandy, he now faces a similar challenge.  

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The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a variance to subdivide a 120-foot parcel at 83 Farrell St. into two 60-foot parcels, which Young said strictly violates the zoning code he battled to establish in 1987.

He said most area homes sit on 80-foot plots and reducing it to 60 feet would set a bad precedent for other investors to scoop up homes in the wake of the storm, buy the property for cheap and make a huge profit by building two homes on a lot that previously held one. This would significantly cut into the remaining open space residents currently enjoy.

As a result, Young has appealed the zoning board decision to Nassau County Supreme Court, which has set aside April 29 for initial proceedings.

Young said until the zoning board rendered its March 22 decision to grant the variance, every zoning board has upheld the ban against subdividing property in the past 25 years.

“Long Beach is the most densely populated community in Nassau County,” Young said. “What are they trying to do here? There is tons of money to be made by clearing the area and pushing people out who get nothing from it and then by building more houses.

“This is a deliberate attempt to destabilize the community,” Young added.

But Corporation Counsel Corey Klein, who will represent the zoning board in the Supreme Court case, said the approval of the subdivision at 83 Farrell St. “is in character with the neighborhood.”

“The standard of the zoning board is does this conform to the neighborhood?” Klein said. “The zoning board felt that it obviously does conform.”  

But Young and his neighbors strongly disagree, saying that this is the first approved subdivision in the Canals since the city enacted the zoning change in 1987.

“This was the first time,” Young said. “Every other request was denied.

“If this is done in the Canals, then it could also be done in the President Streets and the West End. It will be open season for this.”

A group of neighbors look to voice their concerns and appeal to the City Council for help.

Linda Wright, who lives directly across from the approved subdivision, said she was shocked the zoning board gave the go-ahead.

“We’re outraged,” Wright said. “This was granted without any reason. We’re already crowded on our block. This will totally change the character of the neighborhood.”

She said if it is allowed to happen, the neighbors’ privacy will be compromised because the new homes will be built so close.

Many homes were severely damaged in the Oct. 29 hurricane and only a handful of residents are currently living on the block of 24 homes.

One Farrell Street resident, Bernadette Tompkins, said she doesn’t want to see her neighborhood become more congested than it was before as the rebuilding process ensues.

“I’m very opposed to the subdivision,” Tompkins said. “I would like to keep the zoning in the Canals the way it was established in 1987. I don’t want to see more traffic in the neighborhood. We have children running around. I want to keep it a nice quiet neighborhood.”

Long Beach realtor Joe Sinnona said precedent has already been set and that this is not the first subdivision in the Canals.

“All of Long Beach is overdeveloped,” said Sinnona, a broker at Verdeschi Realty. “It’s too late. As far as precedent goes, they already did it. It’s out of control. It’s too late to turn back now.”