Amityville rejects plan to store trailers on road at beach

A proposal to store vacant trailers from a North Amityville mobile home park on a road at Amityville's municipal beach was dropped this week after overwhelming opposition from village residents.

Officials said that Frontier Mobile Home Park owner H. Lee Blumberg, a lawyer and landlord with offices in the village, approached them last week with a $22,500 offer for storage of 15 trailers for about a month this spring.

They briefly entertained the offer -- trustee Dennis Siry said he had hopes to use the money for a beautification project involving new trees and flowers for Route 110 -- but residents hated the idea.

"They are a breeding ground for nothing that can be good," said Tom Cardinale, speaking at a Monday night village board meeting on behalf of residents of the Timber Ridge condominiums that are adjacent to the beach.

"They're not OK in the village," said Joan Donnison, Bay Village Civic Association president. "We don't want to see them. We don't want them."

Blumberg did not respond to a request for comment this week.

Frontier Park's timeworn mobile homes -- some owned by residents, some by Blumberg -- are being removed to make way for a new development with 500 apartments and retail space off Route 110, north of the village.

About 150 homes were slated for removal during the first phase of clearing, village attorney Richard Handler said, but 15 owners refused to go along with the plan and were evicted.

Those homes are required by law to be held for 30 days before demolition, he said. Amityville's municipal beach -- not on the sand itself, but a small adjacent road used for training by the village fire department -- appeared to offer Blumberg a less expensive alternative than a commercial storage site. The municipal beach is to open July 1.

In Amityville, economics smacked into tradition. Generations of residents have learned to swim, sail and kayak at the beach; residents play soccer, softball and volleyball on nearby fields and courts.

"This is a waterfront community with a proud maritime and water recreation heritage," Handler said. "The beach area is the pride of the community."

Nine residents condemned the proposal Monday, voicing concerns over security, asbestos, fire and the possibility of floating debris in the event of a storm. More would probably have spoken, but trustee Nick LaLota asked for a show of hands from the crowd: all, or nearly all of the approximately 50 people in attendance opposed it. "Motion to absolutely kill, cease and desist any motions we're making to putting toward putting trailers at Amityville Beach," said LaLota.

The motion passed, with cheers from residents but no further discussion from trustees, by a 5-0 vote.