The Great Neck News, Friday, January 22, 2016
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Setback for Inisfada housing proposal By N o a h M a n s k a r The Village of North Hills has ruled the housing subdivision proposed to replace the Inisfada Retreat House would have a significant environmental impact on the area. The village’s Planning Board issued Jan. 13 a positive declaration for the gated community, known as “Manhasset Crest,” under state environmental review law, meaning the developer must further study several aspects of how it will affect its surroundings. In its ruling, the Planning Board found the project by the Manhasset Bay Group would have major impacts on ecological resources, appearance, water resources and traffic at the 30.43-acre property off Searingtown Road. The board’s resolution echoes some concerns board members and residents expressed at a December public hearing on the plans to build 46 high-end custom homes on the site. While current plans would protect three clusters of rare trees, the project would still clear 95 percent of the property’s existing vegetation, posing noise problems and detracting from “neighborhood character,” the decision says. The current drainage plan’s impact on existing drainage infrastructure also needs review, the board ruled, as does the amount of water the development will use. That drainage plan will also require approval from the Nassau County Department of Public Works, the resolution says.
The Manhasset Bay Group aims to put a 46-home subdivision on the former site of the Inisfada Retreat House (pictured). Additionally proposed single entrance on Searingtown Road could create safety and traffic issues there that must be evaluated, the resolution says. Construction at the site could also kick dust into the air and cause security and noise problems for the two gated neighborhoods that border it, the board’s resolution says. The developer must now outline how it will further study the concerns the Planning Board raised in a document called a draft scope, Planning Board Chairman David Kass said. While each review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act is dif-
ferent, Kass said, positive declarations are common for larger projects. The board postponed a second public hearing on the development, originally scheduled for Jan. 13, to March 9. Anthony Guardino, Manhasset Bay Group’s attorney, did not return repeated requests for comment. The company, incorporated in Delaware and led by four Hong Kong real estate magnates, purchased the property from the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church for $36.5 million in July 2013. It subsequently demolished the historic but dilapidated house, built in the early 20th century, over sustained pro-
test from local civic and historic preservation groups. Efforts to stop the demolition and designate it a historic landmark ultimately failed. It has been trying to develop a subdivision there since 2014 and reduced the proposed number of homes from 51 to 46 this year, with plans saying the houses would sit on lots between a half-acre and one acre in size. The developer submitted a draft environmental impact report in November, offering several steps it could take to mitigate the environmental issues. The project also needs five variances from the village zoning board.
Lake Success attorney receives top award By J oe N i k i c A Lake Success-based attorney has been named the 2016 Lawyer of the Year for Plaintiffs’ Medical Malpractice Actions, his law firm announced Wednesday. Steven Pegalis, co-founder of law firm Pegalis & Erickson, said receiving the award came as a surprise to him. “I’m not sure how I won that honor because I didn’t announce my candidacy or participate in any televised debate and I didn’t submit any data to support that election,” he said. “But somehow or another they get feedback from others, I imagine including our adversaries. It’s nice to win such an honor.” Best Lawyers, a peer-review law publication, lists attorneys and law firms for various honors and achievements in law practice. Pegalis’ career in representing patients in medical malpractice cases began in the 1960s when he began to practice law. In what he called the “medical malpractice crisis” in the early 1970s, Pegalis said there were not many attorneys who would handle such cases. “In the early 1970s, there were not that many attorneys who were capable or comfortable in handling medical mal-
practice cases for the patient,” he said. “There weren’t that many medical malpractice cases at the time, but after the so-called malpractice crisis, many more people began to inquire as to why was there a bad outcome.” Pegalis, a Kings Point resident, said practicing an aspect of law that was generally unknown helped increase his publicity and eventually led to an increase in medical malpractice lawyers. In 1972, he and Stephen Erickson founded Pegalis & Erickson, which is located at 1 Hollow Lane in Lake Success. Pegalis also teaches at New York Law School, he said. In July, he was named co-director with Dr. Irwin R. Merkatz of the school’s Patient Safety Project initiative, which aims to improve and promote safer health care practices. Pegalis said it is the only law school in the country to partner a physician and attorney to promote safer health care. He also authored a three-volume text book called “American Law of Medical Malpractice,” now in its third edition. Pegalis is married, has three children and seven grandchildren. He said during his free time he likes to spend as much time with his family and grandchildren as he can.
Steven Pegalis