Documents and Photos for the
East Hills Architectural Review Board
Meeting of March 6 , 2017
See Extended Text Below

ARB meeting March 6, 2017 at 8 PM in the Village courtroom, in the Village Park, 209 Harbor Hill Rd. Open to all. Public comments are taken verbally and in writing up to and at the meeting.

IF YOU AGREE ... in this age of Global Warming and species collapse, East Hills -- and elsewhere in our region -- needs far better environmental and ecological stewardship, please attend the hearings and/or provide me written testimony expressing your desire to preserve the trees and halt the over-building to: Richard Brummel (516) 238-1646, Email: rxbrummel [at] gmail [dot] com. Other assistance is also welcome. Thank you.

1. 135 Sycamore Drive -- Official Documents An application to destroy multiple trees including three massive hardwoods -- two Oaks and a Beech -- and a "Kousa Dogwood" determined by the Village's consulting arborist "Tree Health" to be in good health and not in any way impeding construction, in the course of a demolition and new 6000 square foot house. The ARB members -- recently re-appointed with no public notice or scrutiny -- have been over-ruling the Village's own expert and allowing massive deforestation throughout East Hills in the past months -- 10 trees at 25 Spruce Dr., 10 at 5 Westwood Circle, 15 trees at 160 Redwood Dr., 12 trees at 185 Elm Dr., two healthy Oaks at 55 Oak Dr., etc. PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING OR EXPRESS YOUR OPPOSITION by sending an email to rxbrummel AT gmail DOT com.


2. 30 Village Rd. -- Official Documents An application to destroy four trees evidently for the purpose of patios and the like. The application with "reasons" was missing from the file -- as was a mandated Tree Warden report. PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING OR EXPRESS YOUR OPPOSITION by sending an email to rxbrummel AT gmail DOT com.



3. 5 Crabapple Dr. -- Official Documents An application to destroy a Dawn Redwood near the foundation of the house and multiple hemlocks, and to demolish the house and construct a 5,300 square foot replacement. The arborist report (click document link) is supportive of the application, but clearly if the original house were left in place the Redwood could be retained. This property is, wew recollect, largely denuded of trees and should be preserved as mcuh as possible, as a matter of public interest as defined by the Village code (Section 186 -- Tree Preservation and Protection).PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING OR EXPRESS YOUR OPPOSITION by sending an email to rxbrummel AT gmail DOT com.

Background

      The East Hills Village Code contains provisions to protect the local environment: to preserve the tree canopy (Section 186), to preserve the architectural harmony of the community (Section 271-185), and to halt the rampant demolitions *and* rebuilding of large over-bearing massive new houses (Section 271-225). The Architectural Review Board (ARB) is the de-facto front-line environmental regulator of the Village. The Zoning Board of Appeals has a role but it hears far fewer cases, and does not deal with multiple demolitions and rebuildings, and proposed tree 'removals-by-the-dozen' each month, as the ARB does. Anyone passing through East Hills will notice that the ARB has been grossly failing in its environmental duties, voting in favor of the real-estate speculation that the Village administration now favors. But for a few years now, we have been trying hard to oppose this policy, including by taking the Village to court.

      One key problem is that the members of the board are appointed by the Mayor after no public application or review process, except maybe a cursory description and rubber-stamp vote by the trustees. This is the result of a pure crony/one-party system, which tries to discredit, wear-out, or co-opt critics. Dissenting members of the board like founding members Hilda Yohalem and Richard Oberlander are shown the door. Jana Goldenberg quit last year in disgust over a large house built on Chestnut Drive, by a resident later appointed to the board, in a true irony. However, neighbor testimony can be effective in some cases in forcing some limited modification of plans.

      The Village currently continues to refuse to post any documents from the applications being heard by ARB on its website -- DESPITE state law requiring that it make a good-faith effort to do so (Open Meeting Law: NY State Public Officers Law, Article 7, Section 103(e)).

      Therefore most residents are in the dark and have difficulty making sense of the vague notices they *may* receive about the proposal to rebuild a house nearby and/or "remove trees". The fact is, every month the ARB approves massive, ugly and inappropriate new houses and the destruction of dozens of healthy trees -- with no real oversight or public accountability. The Board is appointed in virtual secrecy with no open application process or public hearings on the nominees of the Mayor. The trustees are a rubber stamp. The media does not pay any attention.

      The ARB utterly fails to uphold the tree protection law or the architectural preservation law. Visits to streets like Poplar Drive and Birch Drive reveal the extremes of the current reckless over-development policy; and many other streets bear the ugly sterile imprint of the same trend of over-sized houses on denuded lots too small for the massive 5,000 to 6,000 square-foot homes being routinely approved. Animals are losing trheir shelter and sources of food, and this community is being degraded -- like so many others on Long Island. Conscientious people have resigned from the ARB, the most recent one quietly this winter.

      Since last year, we have been trying to improve the process by putting some documents online for residents to readily see in advance what is at stake. We also give neighbors more detailed letters about what is at stake, time permitting.

      Please help us fight for our environment, trees and neighborhood character. The organizer of this effort, Richard Brummel, grew up here in Norgate; went to Roslyn High School and Yale. We fight for the environment throughout Nassau County. We need your help. Call Richard Brummel at (516) 238-1646 to express your support and share your ideas, and attend the meetings generally the first Monday at 8 PM in Village Hall. Thanks!