Soundview Manor Owner Seeks Zoning Variance

Editor's Note: Mistakes in the original version of this report have been corrected in the revised article below. Among them: The ruling by White Plains City Court was issued in 2007. Building Commissioner Damon Amadio's last name was misspelled. Soundview Avenue resident Elizabeth Azerad's first name was incorrect. The format of comments from former Westchester-Putnam Board of Realtors President Ron Reid was unclear. Patch regrets the errors. 

The White Plains Zoning Board of Appeals opened and adjourned a discussion of the case of  at its meeting July 6.

Doris Sassower of 286 Soundview Ave. is seeking a variance to increase historic Soundview Manor's guest occupancy and make it available for special events. 

However, the issue is complicated by the fact that Sassower and City officials are arguing over a number of issues in the City's zoning code and the size of the property tax assessment.

Soundview Manor is a neo-classical estate built in 1920 that is listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places, and has been given the final recommendation by the State’s Historic Preservation Officer for listing on the National Register of Historic Places—according to Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli’s (R, C – Goldens Bridge) website.

The home was originally built as the principal residence for Robert L. Dula and Elsie Dula, most likely as a wedding gift from Dula’s father, Robert B. Dula, a retired tobacco executive, according to a press release from Castelli.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stopped by Soundview Manor on June 28, 1999 with daughter Chelsea Clinton while house hunting, according to Soundview Manor's guestbook. Click here for a virtual tour. 

The Sassower family purchased the 4.6 acre estate in 1980, and now operates part of the house as a bed-and-breakfast with two rooms for rent. Soundview Manor's website says it has six rooms with the Garden Suite and Penthouse listed as unavailable. 

City officials took Sassower to court in 2004, saying a bed and breakfast was not a permitted use in an R1-30 zone. City Court Judge Jo Ann Friia ruled in 2007 ruled that Sassower as "apparent fiduciary and co-owner" had violated Section 4.1.1 of the City's zoning ordinance by operating a bed and breakfast.

There is no bed-and-breakfast classification in the City code. Sassower collects and pays the city's required hotel occupancy tax. 

Soundview Manor is in an R1-30 residential district; property owners in an R1-30 district may rent up to two two-person rooms at a time to boarders. 

In her Use Variance Hardship Application this spring, Sassower said she is seeking a variance to increase to five rooms-for-rent, with no more than 10 guests at a time. She also is looking to “host special events consistent with those uses,” such as family reunions, meetings, conferences and private parties. Sassower had to provide proof of financial hardship—making the additional rooms to rent as a necessary income in order for her to keep her property. 

A 40-minute discussion before turning the floor over to the public, board members appeared impatient as Sassower failed, in their eyes, to properly present her case.

The board specifically wanted her to bring information that would support her request for a variance, such as documents supporting her hardship application, and adjourned the issue to a future meeting.

“We have sat here with all of the members of the public and have asked this applicant over, and over, and over, and over again to present,” said board member Brian Keating.

He said the applicant had months to put this information together and present it in writing to this board. He said he thought Sassower had been disrespectful to the board and to the people at the meeting.

Sassower accused the board of purposely targeting her, especially as a result of her involvement with the Center for Judicial Accountability—an organization whose stated mission is to protect citizens from corrupt government.

“The City has discriminated against me and my property for years, because of my judicial whistle blowing,” said Sassower. “I have endured years of struggle and sacrifice because of my commitment to that cause.”

Before the meeting, Sassower claimed that her property has seen nearly a quarter of a million dollars in taxes levied over the past five years and $100,000 in the past six months.

She believes these property taxes to be a result of a “deliberate misclassification” of her property. 

Sassower cited a New York State Residential Code, which states that a bed and breakfast is allowed to have five guest rooms in addition to the owners’ rooms—thus believing her five-bedroom manor should fall under these guidelines.

The board, however, believes that there was no misclassification in regards to Sassower’s manor—but rather, a miscommunication.

Building Commissioner Damon Amadio told Sassower that the issue is a local ordinance—which has nothing to do with the State of New York Division of Codes. If the City of White Plains permitted use, then provisions to the State Code may apply, he told Sassower at the meeting, but this use is not permitted in this zone. 

Several residents from the Soundview neighborhood showed up at the meeting, mostly in opposition of the proposed variance. Some expressed concern over what could result out of allowing hotels in the neighborhood.

“Doris is a dear neighbor to me, she’s been nothing but nice since we moved in,” said Elizabeth Azerad, who said she had been in favor of Sassower’s bed and breakfast before reading the document. “Changing the zone would basically allow for there to potentially be a hotel built across the street from me. I had to disagree with it.”

Common Council President Benjamin Boykin, a neighborhood resident, also took to the podium to voice his opinion on the matter.

“Because of numerous complaints from the neighbors many years ago we actually had public safety check in to what we thought was a bed and breakfast,” said Boykin, who lives on Midchester Avenue. “The findings [revealed] that this was a non-conforming and illegal use in the Soundview neighborhood. I hope once the financial information is presented to you, that you take a look at this and you deny this applicant.”

Sassower did receive support from the Westchester County Historical Society in a letter written to the zoning board.

“It is our firm belief that everything that can be done responsibly to assist those who desire to maintain the property, should be undertaken,” said Katherine Hite, executive director of the Westchester County Historical Society in an open letter. “White Plains would be much poorer if the property were to be lost."

And lost is exactly what Sassower believes it will be if she cannot receive the variance—believing she will be forced to sell. In her Use Variance Hardship Application she cited financial and physical hardship, said the property's historic nature and design merited its preservation and said renting rooms benefits the community, including religious institutions who seek accommodations within walking distance for members and guests.

In a letter to the zoning board, former president of the Westchester-Putnam Board of Realtors Ron Reid said that he has been working with Sassower to try and sell the house for the past six years due to the taxes.

According to Reid, even after knocking $3.5 million off the initial listing, there have been no potential purchasers, aside from developers who he believes intend to tear down the building.

“Unfortunately, given the circumstances, the income of the Manor is not enough to pay for more than a fraction of the real estate taxes, let alone any other expenses at all,” said Reid. “Not only are there no profits whatsoever, but the property cannot even support the weight of its own expenses.”

The city's Planning Board put Soundview Manor on its Aug. 16 meeting agenda.

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