Zoning battle pits residents against North Amityville fence company

The old saying, “fences make good neighbors,” doesn’t hold much favor in one North Amityville community where residents have been battling a fence company that wants to rezone property it has used illegally for years.

R.J. Amendola LLC is asking Babylon Town to rezone seven properties from business and residence zoning to industrial zoning for its fence company retail store, warehouse and storage yard. The Amendola Fence Company’s main building fronts Sunrise Highway, but over the years it has purchased several residential properties, knocking down single-family homes and using the land for storage without town approval, Babylon officials said.

The company racked up $7,000 in fines from the town in 2017 and in 2019 began efforts to bring the properties into compliance. It first asked to rezone 10 properties but town officials said they asked Amendola to make changes including increasing the buffer with homes and removing one of the lots closest to homes on Bayview Avenue from consideration. 

Amendola then removed two additional lots from the application.

There was a planning board hearing on the application last year but the town board must first vote on the rezoning. That board heard the application during a public hearing in May and indicated a decision could be made this week.

Neighbors of the fence company said they have been battling against Amendola's fence manufacturing for years, with bright lights, dust and late-night noise impacting their quality of life.

“Every time there’s a windy day, it’s like a sandstorm,” said Martin Siri, 54, adding he has to always keep his sliding glass door closed or dust fills his house.

Margie Bloome, 72, said neighbors are tired of the company’s operations reaching into their home life.

“We’re suffering as a neighborhood,” she said. “I’m not trying to take money out of anyone’s pocket but I’ve got to live too.”

Victor Emanuelo, a Farmingdale attorney representing Amendola, declined to comment to Newsday. At the May hearing, he said in the “give and take” the company decided that the three lots closest to residents will “not be used for any commercial activity of any kind.” He later added Amendola has done “a lot to try to accommodate the needs of the neighbors.”

Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer countered that Amendola’s “track record has been to just do whatever they want” and questioned Emanuelo whether that would continue with a rezoning.

Emanuelo replied “there's no way to predict future behavior, except to say we all hope that we comply with the applicable regulations to our operation …”

Siri said he already knows what will happen if the rezoning is granted.

“As soon as that happens, our property values will go down,” he said. “They say they’re going to do this, they’re going to do that to fix things up, but they’re just looking to get approval. They’re not going to keep their word.”

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.