Elmont co-op that once provided affordable senior housing demolished after fire, floods

Demolition crews started tearing down the remnants of the former Foster Meadow senior co-op in Elmont on Wednesday, after it was destroyed in a fire last month and damaged by a 2023 flood that displaced about 60 seniors for more than a year.

Hempstead Town Board members unanimously approved demolition of the three-story masonry-framed co-op building Tuesday at 1888 Foster Meadow Lane, which firefighters and building inspectors declared a "dangerous building," following a Dec. 14 fire.

Seniors have been evacuated out of their homes since Sept. 29, 2023, when a flood from a severe rainstorm destroyed the building’s fire alarm and sprinkler system. The flood sparked a lawsuit by Nassau County against the building management and the senior co-op owners. A Jan. 28 hearing is scheduled on the ongoing case.

Nassau County officials, the management company Woods and Ruff, and attorneys in the case did not respond to comment Wednesday.

As the building languished, a frozen pipe last winter caused further flooding and mold to fester in the building while the electricity was turned off.

Jan Thompson, 88, who had lived at the co-op since it opened as affordable housing in 2011, returned to the property Wednesday morning once demolition was underway. She said she had always planned to go back for her belongings, prior to the fire.

"It was very emotional. They were tearing the building down and I felt I had to go there. I watched for a while and I was starting to get cold," Thompson said. "Everything’s gone. The bulldozers are there, and it appears everything went down with the structure. There was no cleaning out prior to destroying it. That’s 60 years of my personal life. Some of my furniture is probably that old."

Excavators dug through twisted metal and wreckage from the building, which partially collapsed from the blaze. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by police and fire marshals.

Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Mike Uttaro said arson investigators used drones to survey the cleanup after officials determined it was unsafe to enter the building during the investigation.

The fire marshal has not determined whether the fire was suspicious, but noted the building was closed and the power was off when it began just before midnight.

Hempstead town officials proceeded with demolition after fire marshals said they had concluded their investigation at the site. The town also plans to bill the property owners of the building about $300,000 for cleanup efforts, Hempstead Town spokesman Brian Devine said.

The building had been repeatedly plagued by flooding since it opened and affordable units were awarded to seniors through a lottery hosted by the Town of Hempstead.

After residents were evacuated following the flood, some residents were sheltered in a high school gym, the Long Island Marriott and eventually the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility where about nine residents, including Thompson, have been living since then.

Several residents said they were unable to access belongings that were still inside the building at the time of the fire and they were not notified the building was being demolished.

"I have to find a place to live and start looking," Thompson said, who lives at the A. Holly Patterson facility. "I don’t want to stay here one more day, but I really don’t have much choice."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.