Friday, march 6, 2015
$1
tHe PULSe OF tHe PeNiNSULA
vol. 90, no. 10
Guide to Great Neck
gUide tO gReAt NeCK S1-S60 a blank slate media special
ARtiFiCiAL tURF WARS
dOWLiNg CHAmPiONS immigRANtS
pAGE 2
pAGE 6
section • march 6, 2015
Developer’s history not scrutinized
A tEARFUl REUNIoN
Estates deputy mayor says issues in NYC ‘not germane’ By A dA m L i d g e t t Though Great Neck Estates trustees were aware of past controversies tied to a New York City developer when they approved an application in December to construct a 41-unit senior apartment complex on Middle Neck Road, officials said the board does not believe that history would have any impact on his forthcoming work in the village. “During meetings residents tried to bring it up,” Great Neck Estates Deputy Mayor William Warner said of a proposal made by Jonathan Ohebshalom, whose rent-controlled properties in Manhattan and Brooklyn have been the source of repeated complaints from tenants and elected officials. “[Residents] said, ‘they have a history’ and ‘do you know about it’ and so forth that we realized are not germane to the project.” But Warner said he was confi-
dent that neither Ohebshalom nor his company, Sky Management Corp., whose headquarters at 226 East 54th Street in Manhattan was also provided as the primary address on his application for the project as GN Properties LLC, would draw similar complaints in Great Neck. Ohebshalom and family members cited on legal documents with the surname Shalom maintain approximately 100 properties both independently and under Sky Management Corp. umbrella. But according to EV Grieve, a local news website that covers lower Manhattan, Ohebshalom and his associates have been known to “buy rent-stabilized buildings and then systematically dismantle required building services, forcing out legal residents…” In 2003, complaints about the family’s alleged tactics led to the formation of the Shalom Tenants Continued on Page 48
PHOTO BY KENN DOYLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Sisters Lina iorlano of Australia and Amy D’Amelio of Great Neck reunite after nearly 50 years apart. See story on page 3.
Stein charge draws heated Schneiderman response By A dA m L i d g e t t Village Trustee Gerry Schneiderman on Monday called for Jonathan Stein, a Great Neck lawyer running for trustee in the March 18 election,
to retract statements made in campaign literature that Schneiderman says implies he was caught in a payoff scheme. “There is no place in village elections – indeed in elections at all levels of government –
for false, unjustified, character assassination and misleading innuendo,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “A village election is grassroots democracy in action. I welcome the opContinued on Page 47
For the latest news visit us at www.theislandnow.com D on’t forget to follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow