Oyster Bay looks to seize Hicksville properties by eminent domain

The Town of Oyster Bay is aiming to seize four properties near Hicksville’s Long Island Rail Road station through eminent domain to convert the area to public parking as part of an effort to revive the hamlet's downtown.

The properties on the north side of Herzog Place, between Broadway and Jerusalem Avenue, are needed to support the ongoing revitalization, said Brian Nevin, a town spokesman. 

Eminent domain is the power of a government to take private property for public use.

The downtown renewal effort, funded by a $10 million grant the state awarded in 2017, is picking up steam after years of delays following a start last month to the demolition of two buildings to make way for a mixed-use development. 

“These addresses are owned by a single owner and the stores have month-to-month leases, as the property was listed for sale,” Nevin said of the properties the town wants to seize.

Currently, the properties are occupied by businesses that include an auto repair shop, a hair salon and a tire store.

Mathew and Kathleen Koinis, of Syosset, own the properties, according to Nassau County Clerk's Office records. Nevin said the town offered a total of $1.32 million for 14 Herzog Place, 10-12 Herzog Place, 30 Herzog Place and 3 Jerusalem Ave. based on a town appraisal, but the owners are seeking a higher price.

James O'Brien, an attorney for the owners, declined to comment. 

Last month, town board members passed a resolution setting a public hearing on the eminent domain matter for Tuesday. 

While the town will need to prove it requires the properties for public use, New York law favors municipalities during the initial steps of eminent domain proceedings, said attorney Dan Biersdorf, of Biersdorf & Associates, a law firm in Minneapolis that has handled New York eminent domain cases.

“The right to take typically is pretty much a fait accompli,” said Biersdorf, who added that challenges to a government's attempt to seize a property usually are unsuccessful.

Following the public hearing, the town intends to file a court petition asking a judge to condemn the properties. The next step would be a judicial review to determine the properties'  values, Nevin said.   

Once the town files a court petition to condemn a property, the title for the property passes to the municipality, according to attorney Michael Zarin, an adjunct professor at the Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law.

That allows the town to proceed with any necessary demolition while the court determines how much the property is worth.

“The litigation is only about the final value,” Zarin said.

The Town of Oyster Bay has used eminent domain to create more public parking in Hicksville in the past, most recently seizing a privately owned parking lot near the village's Long Island Rail Road station in 2022. 

The town reached a settlement in July for the West Barclay Street property, paying $880,000, town spokeswoman Marta Kane said last week. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ