Great Neck 2021_07_16

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Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston

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Friday, July 16, 2021

Vol. 96, No. 29

SCHOOLS & EDUCATION

TOWN APPLICATIONS DELAYED

50% SUCCEED CHALLENGING ASSESSMENTS

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First Playhouse group finishes demolition Estates trustees grant developers five months to obtain construction permit BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z The Village of Great Neck Estates trustees granted the developers of the First Playhouse project 90 days to file the necessary paperwork to obtain a building permit and an additional 60 days afterward to obtain the permit. An apartment complex is planned for the site of the historic playhouse that dated back to the 1920s. The measure, which was unanimously approved by the town’s Board of Trustees, was an amendment to an existing incentive zoning permit for the project that recently completed demolition on the building. Village Building Department Inspector Barbara Dziorney said the First Playhouse group will be required to submit all of the additional paperwork, which includes engineering, plumbing, electrical, structural and mechanical plans, all at once. Paul Bloom, of Harras, Bloom

and Archer LLP, who serves as legal counsel to the Playhouse group, said the demolition “went well” and said the developer and the property owner, Jan Soleimani, will submit the necessary paperwork to move forward with the project within the 90-day period. Village officials questioned the developers about why the various other forms and paperwork weren’t ready to be submitted once the demolition work was done. Bloom said the unfortunate pairing of the re-evaluation of the project and the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the group not having all the paperwork ready to be immediately submitted. Albert Shirian of Lions Group NYC said he anticipates the construction would take anywhere from 24-36 months, with the winter weather being a determining factor on how quickly the project could start and taking into account any other delays after construction Continued on Page 44

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN RUBIN/NEWS-PHOTOS-FEATURES.COM

Northwell Health nurse and Port Washington resident Sandra Lindsay was the grand marshal of a ticker-tape parade honoring New York’s health-care workers on Wednesday. See story on page 2.

K.P. man accused of stealing brownstones BY R OB E RT PELAEZ A Kings Point man was arrested for allegedly defrauding owners of two Harlem brownstone properties by using fal-

sified and forged records, according to a release from the office of state Attorney General Letitia James. Joseph Makhani, 58 allegedly “stole” the two brownstones in 2012, claiming to

have paid just $10 for each, according to state real estate tax filings found in the report. The two brownstones, today, reportedly have an estimated value of $2.29 million and $1.9 Continued on Page 35

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