By Richard Tedesco
The owners of a house on Norgate Road in Manhasset left vacant for the past 13 years applied for a demolition permit last week on the decrepit structure which has concerned area residents.
One of the owners, Franklin Steinberg, who owns and operates the Sunset Chapels funeral home at 1285 Northern Blvd. in Manhasset, said last week he plans to demolish the house as soon as the Town of North Hempstead Building Department issues the demolition permit he is seeking.
“When they issue the permit, then we’ll proceed,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg said he intends to leave the property at 22 Norgate Rd., adjacent to the parking lot of the funeral home, as “an open field” after the house is destroyed.
Franklin Steinberg and his brother, Stephen, own the property and operate the Sunset Chapels in partnership as Steinberg and Company, according to town records.
The house appears to be in an advanced state of disrepair, with a rotting front door and shutters, on a lot that is unkempt.
“It’s an absolute travesty what’s going on there,” Chris Quirin, president of the Norgate Civic Association said of the property he described as “overgrown.”
Quirin said he has expressed his concerns about the decrepit structure on Norgate Road to Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan.
The demolition permit application drew a “permit pending omission” letter from the town building department seeking a rodent inspection certification letter and contractor insurance information, according to Town of North Hempstead spokesperson Carol Troterre.
Troterre said the owners have been served “numerous” court appearance tickets for a fence that is in disrepair on the property. The owners also have been served with tickets for litter and trash on the property, she said.
“I don’t think he has any respect for anybody in this town,” Quirin said, adding that Steinberg has refused to discuss the situation with members of the civic association.
Steinberg said he has not been approached by the civic association for a meeting to discuss the property, which he said he has owned for the past 20 years.
John Mitsinikos, who lives next door to the vacant house, said he has seen evidence of raccoon and rat trails on the property. He also said there are holes in the roof of the house.
He said demolition of the house would be welcome “as long as they conduct a thorough extermination before they knock it down.”
Mitsinikos said Franklin Steinberg has been unresponsive when Mitsinikos has attempted to speak
to him.
Troterre said town building department officials have attempted to gain access to the house to inspect it “many times,” but the Steinbergs had not responded.
The Steinbergs were denied a demolition permit they applied for in 2002. The building department never received a response to correspondence it sent to the Steinbergs about that permit application, Troterre said, while the Steinbergs say they did respond at the time.
The building department and the Steinbergs have been in correspondence this year about the original permit application.
Quirin said a homeless person was living in the house last winter, sparking safety concerns about the wooden structure among residents in the neighborhood.
“That’s a structure that could easily catch fire,” Quirin said.
Troterre said the town has a policy which requires the property owner to either have a plan for another house following the demolition of an existing house, or supply a new survey detailing the elevations of the property so that a house too tall or too low that can take on water will not be built on the property.
Quirin said Steinberg intended to put an access road to the parking lot of the funeral home through the property, but was told by the building department that was not a permissible use.
When asked why he has not leased the house to tenants since 2002, Steinberg said, “The last tenant left the place in such destruction, it wasn’t worth the cost to fix it.”
