Discussions between the Village of Great Neck Plaza board of trustees and the owner of a Middle Neck Road jewelry store seeking to convert office space above his shop into apartments were adjourned last Wednesday to allow the village more time to understand the process and cost of removing cables wires.
Danny Arbusman, president of Jewels By Viggi, said he would be able to move the electrical wires located in front of his store 65 Middle Neck Road as requested by the village, because they do not power his shop.
But while PSEG said they would reroute their cables, Arbusman said, there are also wires that belong to cable companies attached to the poles in front of the shop, which he said he is not sure can be removed.
Arbusman applied for a conditional-use permit in June to convert the second floor of his building into two apartments and add a third floor, which would house two more apartments.
Village Commissioner of Public Services Michael Sweeney said he knew whose wires were located on the poles, but they needed to be contacted by Arbusman.
“I said the last board meeting, or the board meeting before, there’s Cablevision up there, there’s Verizon up there, and Lightpath up there,” Sweeney said. “So the engineering departments and all the other utilities need to be contacted by the applicant.”
Arbusman said he was concerned that wires would remain after the cable companies removed their wires further stalling his project.
Sweeney said multiple wires are often attached to a pole because engineers do not remove older wiring when they upgrade their lines.
“Verizon may have 20 wires up there. What the utilities do is they come through your neighborhood and they convert your neighborhood from the old copper line to fiber-optic,” Sweeney said. “Do you ever see them taking anything down? No. So the old system is still probably dangling up there. If they need to take it down, they’ll take it down.”
Arbusman agreed to attempt to fix the problem, but said he did not want it to determine whether or not he would be approved for a certificate of occupancy, the document that permits a building to house residents.
“I’m willing to work on it. I’m willing to try to remove it,” Arbusman said. “But I am not willing for it to be a condition for the C of O.”
Trustees originally expressed concerns that firefighters would be hindered by the wiring should there be a fire.
Mayor Jean Celender said that in email exchange between the village and the Great Neck Vigilante Fire Company, which Arbusman was copied on, the fire department said they would rather not have them because it would cause an impediment to their access.
Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen said it is difficult for the board to make a decision if the fire department has an issue with the wires remaining in front of the proposed residence.
“It’s very hard for us to say ‘go ahead and leave those wires up there’ if apparently there is some indication that the fire department has some degree of a problem with those wires,” Rosen said.
Celender said the board would not waive the wire-removal requirement until they have all necessary information.
“The board isn’t going to tell you they are going to waive that requirement. I think you’re hearing that very loud and clear,” Celender said. “We’re not waiving that until we know what’s involved with this.”
Arbusman also asked the board if he could only pay a percentage of the $4,660.32 fee to PSEG, with the board paying the remaining balance, for re-routing the electricity wires since they also cross in front of other businesses on Middle Neck Road.
“My building is only about 24 percent of the distance between the two poles, I ask that I only pay my share of that,” Arbusman said.
Great Neck Properties Co. and clothing retailer Nardo make up the other 76 percent of the distance between the two poles, according to Arbusman.
Arbusman declined to specify whether he would ask for a discount for the cost to remove cable wires but asked for a full waiver for the parking fee he is subject to pay, and in return he would pay all of the wire-removal fees.
At the last meeting, Arbusman requested a credit for the $25,000 fee he has agreed to pay rather than supply the six spots necessary for the residential part of his property, which the board was unable to decide on because Village Attorney Richard Gabriele was not present.
Gabriele, who was present at this meeting, said the parking fee is mandatory and it was illegal to offset the fee, but the board could pay the fee themselves if they wanted to.
Trustee Gerald Schneiderman suggested the board wait until they know how much everything will cost until deciding to give the discount or not.
“I think it’s obvious we want to see this project go forward, and we’d like to help you,” Schneiderman said to Arbusman. “But we can’t do it blindly without getting all the facts and figures together.”
The next meeting will be on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
