HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2012 Long Islander Newspapers, LLC
N E W S P A P E R
Online at www.LongIslanderNews.com VOLUME FIFTEEN, ISSUE 21
24 PAGES
THURSDAY, AUGUST 9 , 2012
Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel
DIX HILLS
Resident: When It Rains It Pours, But Only In My Backyard By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com
A Dix Hills resident is demanding action from Town Hall to solve a flooding dilemma that he said continues to damage his property. Foothill Lane residents Sheldon Gottlieb and his wife, Sharon, said when rainwater rushes down Concord Street, the four storm drains near the intersection of Mont Avenue and Concord cannot handle the flow. The excess flows through a driveway on Concord Street, on a downward slope on that property, and into their backyard, they said. “The catch basins are there, but the problem is, where they put the catch basins around the corner… [they are]
not catching enough of the water,” Gottlieb said. “His driveway, there is no lip, so the water runs from the street to his driveway, and the driveway is maybe down 5-6 feet below grade level or more. It continues to the back of the house.” As recently as late June, Gottlieb said his basement was flooded out. “Basically, the water hit the house and back and it went downstairs. I had 3-4 inches of water in my basement, which is finished,” he said. “It’s the old story: It stinks, you pump it out, but the smell is still down there.” Gottlieb said the type of rainstorms of late – short, torrential weather events as opposed to more continuous, (Continued on page A17)
Foothill Lane resident Sheldon Gottlieb points out 2-by-4s he put under his fence last weekend to prevent rainwater from flooding his house. He wants the town to install new storm drains on Concord Street to prevent flooding on his property.
MELVILLE
Cooking Up A Plan For Empire Szechuan Blight must be addressed by end of month; new restaurant planned for early 2013 Half Hollow Hills photo/Danny Schrafel
The owner of the former Empire Szechuan reached a new restoration agreement with the Town to remove blight at 849 Walt Whitman Road and build a new restaurant next year.
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By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com
The owners of Empire Szechuan at 849 Walt Whitman Road in Melville signed a new agreement with the Town of Huntington Monday to clean up the long-shuttered Asian eatery and take steps toward building a new restaurant in its place. The restoration agreement, town spokesman A.J. Carter said, requires the owner, Great Neck-based Melville Pacific LLC, to submit building plans to the Engineering Department, including necessary permits for demolition and construction prior to Planning Board approval by Aug. 30.
They must also retain an exterminator and provide proof of extermination before starting demolition; fix the overgrown grass and vegetation by Aug. 20; and remove graffiti, unsecured gutters, siding, shingles, fencing and other debris by Aug. 30. “Some of this may be part of the process of demolition,” Carter said. By reaching and completing such an agreement, businesses can get off the blight registry and avoid a $5,000 additional fee on their property taxes. Ben Lee, managing member of Melville Pacific, said the company is working with the town’s Planning and Building Departments and is planning to (Continued on page A17)
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