Owner seeks more time to fix dilapidated Kings Park building

The owner of a dilapidated Kings Park office building that has remained in construction limbo for more than six years has asked Smithtown Town Board members to give him more time to fix the property.

Russell Furia, who owns Crossroad Realty NY, LLC, said he would try to secure the steel structure and construction trailer at 263-265 Indian Head Rd., which the town building department has deemed unsafe.

"We've done it previously," he said, addressing board members during a public hearing Tuesday at which the town considered going onto the property to remove the structure and trailer.

Furia said the chain-link fence he put around the building "disappeared within about 48 hours" because the location is a "fairly desolate area at night."

An inspection notice issued Jan. 8 by former town building director John Bongino, who recently retired, indicated that construction began on the two-story building in 2005.

The site contains "unsafe conditions," such as an open elevator shaft, lack of fall barriers for an open atrium and balcony platforms, and a "dilapidated" trailer, according to the notice.

Accompanying photographs show property maintenance issues: Graffiti and skateboard ramps on the building's lower level and soda and spray paint bottles in the elevator shaft.

Furia blamed construction delays on the economic crisis and his pending legal action against the Smithtown Zoning Board of Appeals for failing to extend previous variances.

Supervisor Patrick Vecchio was unconvinced.

"It just seems to me that you've placed blame on the town . . . and you have done nothing in seven years," he said.

The town board did not vote on demolishing the structures Tuesday, which would require the board to pass a resolution.

"I'm going to finish this project," Furia said. "All I need is my permits back."