Steven Liebman’s house was usually quiet like the rest of his Roslyn neighborhood, said North Hempstead Town Clerk Wayne Wink, one of his neighbors.
“He really kept to himself,” Wink said. “I never really saw him outside of the house.”
But police surrounded it and a helicopter flew overhead last Tuesday as Liebman, 50, was locked in a standoff with police after Nassau County Sheriff’s Department officers thought he had a gun.
Liebman surrendered to police about eight hours later, and police determined he was armed only with a BB gun.
“I think it was more an inconvenience than it was a risk to people’s safety,” Wink said.
Liebman pleaded not guilty last Wednesday to charges of second-degree menacing and second-degree obstructing government administration. His next court appearance is set for July 13.
Sheriff’s officers approached Liebman’s house at 17 Tatterson St. to serve him eviction papers around 3 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesman Detective Lt. Richard LeBrun said.
They saw Liebman inside allegedly pointing what looked like a rifle, retreated and called Nassau County police at 3:25 p.m., police said.
Police responded with a large presence that included a SWAT team, a helicopter, a mobile command center, hostage negotiators, detectives and between 60 and 80 officers, according to police and witnesses.
Police broke down the door of the house adjacent to Liebman’s at 1121 Old Northern Blvd. and set up a command center inside, Wink and a neighbor said.
Wink said he saw damage to the door after he returned to the neighborhood Wednesday morning.
A neighbor who asked not to be named said police first surrounded the house across the street at 18 Tatterson St. LeBrun said he would “highly doubt” that happened.
The neighbor also said he heard the sheriff’s officers thought the weapon was an Uzi machine gun. LeBrun could not confirm or deny that, but said police take precautions any time a law enforcement officer is threatened with what could be a weapon.
“Like anything, it could be a toy gun, but we don’t know that until after the investigation and you can’t put a price on saving a life,” LeBrun said.
Police closed Old Northern Boulevard between Layton Street and West Shore Road in both directions, according to a police alert sent Tuesday afternoon.
Mott Avenue, Tatterson Street, Hicks Street and Layton Street were also closed, Wink said.
Some residents had to stay in their homes throughout the standoff, while others, including Wink, could not return until the next morning.
A wake for state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s father Nicholas DiNapoli was being held about a mile away at Roslyn Heights Funeral Home when the standoff started.
“The entire Roslyn area, I think, was probably a very difficult place to traverse on Tuesday afternoon,” Wink said.
Neighbors told a reporter they heard police on megaphones asking Liebman to talk to them.
One neighbor said two gunshots were heard.
LeBrun said no shots were ever fired, but the person may have heard banging when police unloaded the Rook, a large tactical vehicle, from a truck.
Wink and his wife spent Tuesday night with her parents in North Hills, he said. He returned home around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday and found the neighborhood open again, he said, allowing him to see his dog who had been left alone.
Wink’s next-door neighbors were home when police arrived and had to stay inside during the standoff, he said.
“It was a traumatic thing for them because they were in the house and they were forced to huddle in place for hours before they were able to escort them out,” Wink said.
Liebman has been licensed to practice dentistry in New York since 1994, state records show.
A professional corporation for a dental practice on Wooleys Lane in Great Neck that lists Liebman as the CEO has been inactive since 2009.
Catherine Teevan contributed reporting.
