Village Briefs: Vacant Homes, Flooding Issues on Residents' Minds

Tuesday night's Babylon Village Board meeting wasn't all about invasive bamboo and the debate on where psychics and tattoo parlors should operate.

During the public session portion several residents spoke up on a variety of concerns.

A Fire Island resident hopes the village can help stop speeding 4-wheel trucks from driving through flooded streets after big storms, such as Hurricane Irene. 

“They come down and the trucks just push the water back up toward our house and into the house,” complained the resident. “We need some way to block off traffic when the flooding is bad in the area.”

Mayor Ralph Scordino said he understood the issue well and that current village approaches to blocking traffic during such storms isn't doing the trick.

"These guys [spectators seeking to see flood impact] somehow find a way past our efforts to stop them," he said, adding the village board will work with the village highway department to come up with some better options.

Resident Greg Antolini requested that the village board take action on a home near his house that’s been essentially abandoned for nearly a decade.

The residence is in foreclosure and while the town is maintaining the property for appearances sake, Antolini says it’s time to do something about the vacant structure.

“It’s been 10 years and at some point something needs to be done, whether it’s demolishing it or suing the homeowners,” said Antolini.

Village officials responded that foreclosure scenarios often involve out of state banks which makes it difficult to get needed action.

Another resident noted that dredging is needed in village canals as boats are bottoming out at certain tide times.

Scordino noted that the village does have a dredging permit but that the effort requires hefty funding that the village can't support on its own. “We need to get help on that from the town and county,” he told the resident, advising homeowners living along the canals to write to county and state lawmakers to bring greater attention to the issue.

In other business action, the village board also determined course of action on several topics and provided update on ongoing legal battles:

• The village is mulling a possible public hearing regarding adoption of a law that would support the 2 percent tax cap on municipal spending, a proposal spearheaded by state officials.

• The board approved extending the current six-month moratorium on new restaurant and eatery applications in order to continue assessing parking issues. Village officials said they are working with county planning and parking departments and need more time than the initial proposal has provided.

• A legal battle between the village and the builder of condominum project at Carll Avenue and Park Avenue continues as the developer wants to revamp the original building design as it has been unable to sell the first three initial units due to housing market challenges. Village officials said the proposed redesign is “very drastic” and brings new concerns that would require new reviews by the planning and zoning boards.