DOB revokes Breezy Point resident’s building permit, thereby eliminating BSA appeal. On May 15, 2007, BSA dismissed a contentious case involving the construction of a new year-round home in Breezy Point, Queens, following the Department of Buildings’ revocation of the original permit.

In 2006, Thomas Carroll, a Breezy Point resident for over 50 years, received a permit to construct a new year-round home to replace his deteriorated bungalow. Carroll’s neighbor, Supreme Court Judge James Golia, succeeded in delaying construction several times by complaining to Buildings, obtaining a restraining order and finally filing an appeal to BSA alleging, among other things, that the size of the house violated zoning restrictions for rear and front yards, distance between buildings and parking requirements. Golia’s appeal centered on a claim that Carroll’s plot could not qualify as a separate zoning lot since Carroll did not own it “separately and individually” as required by the zoning resolution. Since the Breezy Point Cooperative owns all the plots in Breezy, BSA’s final decision could have impacted all plots and future building permit applications in the Far Rockaway community. (read more…)

Adjacent neighbor challenges legality of new home construction on cooperative’s land. On March 20, 2007, BSA held a contentious public hearing on an appeal of demolition and new building permits to construct a single-family home in Breezy Point, Queens, located at the western end of the Rockaway Peninsula.

In the early 1900s, New Yorkers started building small, summer bungalows in Breezy Point on land owned by the state. In 1960, Breezy’s predominantly summer residents formed a cooperative to purchase the land from the Atlantic Improvement State Corporation. At the time, the Breezy Point Cooperative surveyed the land and its summer bungalows, leasing “plots” back to residents who paid yearly maintenance, security and other costs. Breezy now contains over 3,500 homes, and each year more residents convert their summer bungalows to year-round homes. (read more…)