Residents Fight To Prevent Demolition Of Historic Building

BABYLON VILLAGE, NY - A developer recently purchased and tore down a 19th-century building in Babylon Village despite efforts to save them.

According to a statement from Mayor Ralph Scordino, the properties on 73 W. Main Street was put up for sale after the previous owner, local attorney Kevin Brosnahan passed away in 2016.

The building houses the Selah Smith Carll House, which has been standing since 1826.

The properties, which is zoned for retail and offices on the first floor, were originally appraised at $475,000.

After several months of negotiations with a few prospective buyers, the owner of the property adjusted the asking price to $425,000.

There was consideration by several buyers, including the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) which currently housed in Old Town Hall with the idea to move their offices to the new property.

However, Ken Rogers of Rogers Construction offered $525,000 for the property, $100,000 over the asking price.

A private individual can offer whatever they want for a property but a government agency like the IDA cannot, so the agency was out of the running and Rogers ultimately purchased the property.

According to the statement, Rogers was aware of the zoning requirements at the time of purchase as it was discussed with him. When asked what his plans were, he said that he was going to put in apartments and raise the back building to 3 stories.

Read the full statement from Mayor Scordino here.

"[Village Trustee Mary Adams] told him that it was not possible as it was not zoned for that," Scordino said. "He replied that if he didn’t get his way, he would just sue the village. At that point, Trustee Adams recused herself from the sale and forfeited her commission."

Rogers then reportedly applied for a zoning change which was denied by the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, according to the statement.

Some residents have expressed their concern on the loss of a historic structure.

"They are tangible evidence of the life of the village for two centuries,” Darrel Blaine Ford, 88, of Babylon told Newsday. “I’m heartbroken.”

In addition, a local resident to create a petition to create new village code which would prohibit demolishing buildings built before 1912. The petition received over 1,000 signatures.

Other local residents agree with Rogers' decision to tear down the building.

"Babylon's got to get with the times," resident Tony Montiglio told News12. "Look at all the towns that are changing -- Farmingdale, Patchogue -- they're all adding housing. Brings young people into the village."

Do you agree with the decision to demolish the building? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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