Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
August 26, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 35 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Larchmont board allows moratorium appeal By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
AND THEN... THERE WAS ONE
Restaurateur Angelo Liberatore recently withdrew his proposal to manage Rye Town Park’s restaurant and concession stands. The Rye Town Park Commission is now left with only one proposal, from Seaside Johnnies co-owners John Ambrose and Sam Chernin. For story, see page 10. File photo
WJWW replacing water main piping in Rye By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer In an effort to maintain infrastructure, the town/village of Harrison recently approved measures to jointly fund and replace water main piping in the Greenhaven section of Rye, following an urgent request by Harrison
Mayor Ron Belmont. Belmont, a Republican and member of the Westchester Joint Water Works board of trustees, requested approval for WJWW to replace approximately 1,000 feet of piping on Douglas Circle near Greenhaven Road, located in the city of Rye. Harrison requested the ini-
tiative to address an immediate issue after piping on Douglas Circle malfunctioned on Aug. 4, according to Belmont. The preliminary total cost of the WJWW project, which is funded jointly by Harrison and the town and village of Mamaroneck, is estimated at $600,000. Harrison is responsible for
$325,800 of the cost, while the village of Mamaroneck and the town of Mamaroneck are responsible for $160,200 and $114,000, respectively. Westchester Joint Water Works is a nonprofit public benefit corporation which operates PIPING continued on page 10
An appeal looking to override a temporary moratorium on residential development in the village of Larchmont was given the green light by the Board of Trustees. The property in question, located on Larchmont’s Douglas Lane, was allowed to proceed with the demolition of a privately owned property that was caught in a net cast by the village’s temporary moratorium. “For an applicant to appeal to the [Board of Trustees], one must be able to show a hardship, and, in this instance, the property owner was able to show that hardship in an appeal without thwarting efforts of the moratorium,” said Larchmont Village Clerk Justin Datino. “They don’t have a home they can rebuild and they’re in a position where they needed a new home.” Unlike other projects, including the controversial proposal looking to tear down and subdivide a historic property located on 40 Ocean Ave., a proposal from David and Lisa Spielvogel—the property owners of 3 Douglas Lane—did not look to add multiple homes to its existing lot. According to the appeal filed by the Spielvogels, the home was purchased with the original intent of renovating the existing structure. However, after cost estimates and the project’s scope
exceeded expectations, the owners opted to tear down the existing structure in place of a building a new home. Among the problems found during inspection were rusting sewer pipes, a leaking roof, rotted wooden beams, and deficient windows that caused difficulties with heating during the winter months. While the owners had waited for the original six-month moratorium to expire, a three-month extension of the moratorium led the homeowners to request the appeal. “When the moratorium was enacted in January, we were just about ready to submit plans, but we believed the six months would give us time to work out some details,” the appeal states. “The three-month extension, however, will most certainly cause hardship to our lives and our plans.” An original moratorium enacted by the village was set to expire on July 15. However, after the Board of Trustees determined that the village would need additional time to complete its analysis of zoning and planning codes prior to potentially revising them, a three-month extension was approved. The impetus for Larchmont’s moratorium can be traced to 2015, when the potential demolition and subdivision of the historic 40 Ocean Ave. property in APPEAL continued on page 8
7