A builder is being accused by his neighbors of potentially building more apartments than approved by Ramapo planners at a large housing complex on the former Temple Beth El property along Viola Road.
The legal action accuses the Ramapo chief building inspector of allowing the construction to continue and even conditionally approving the additional living space in violation of approved plans.
While Ramapo officials acknowledge builder Shimmy Galanduer violated approved plans, his fellow Orthodox Jewish neighbors are demanding in their legal action that a judge stop construction and order remediation, including possibly tearing down the buildings.
Developer Ephraim Grossman owns the property under Viola Gardens LLC.
Ramapo Town Attorney Michael Klein said Friday the lawsuit lacks merit. He said the builder’s floor area ratio used to calculate the size of the buildings includes the basements and appears to be within the limits provided by the zoning law.
“While the neighbors speculate that the homeowners who are buying these condominiums in the $800,000 price range will illegally convert the basements to separate apartments, inspections of the buildings being constructed simply reveal work being done in compliance with the approved plans – not illegal conversions,” Klein said. ” If and when illegal activities are found, work will be ordered to cease and court enforcement actions commenced.”
The former Temple Beth El property was originally zoned for single-family homes, allowing 1.74 units per acre. The Ramapo Town Board, at the developer’s request, changed the zone to multiple family housing, permitting eight units per acre in July 2013.
The change allowed for 44 units in 20 three-floor townhouses squeezed into the 5.5 acres next door to the former synagogue building and parking lot.
The legal action filed in state Supreme Court on June 3 claims Galanduer has stealthily built habitable basements with 8-foot-high ceilings that could be used as accessory apartments, potentially greatly increasing the number of units in the development.
Conway, who represents the neighbors, said he filed the legal action in Putnam County to ensure there were no conflicts. He said Ramapo officials are seeking to have the case moved to Rockland.
When Galanduer got caught after neighbors complained to Ramapo, Building Inspector Anthony Mallia, approved the updated plans that included the accessory basement apartments instead of moving to stop the construction, with the proviso the builder was approved by the Town Board, Conway said.
Construction on the massive three-story buildings continued Friday at the site, across from Ramapo High School. Critics contend the project would have likely been shutdown in other towns, not given the go-head until approvals after the fact could be sought.
“We’re asking for judicial intervention because we believe the builder has exceeded the approved site plan concerning the amount of apartments and living space,” Conway said. “We’re asking the building inspector to do his job and stop the project and have the violations removed.”
Conway said the number of additional apartments cannot yet be calculated.
Conway filed the legal action on behalf of Paula and Gerald From and Eugene Markowitz, who live near the proposed development. They are members of Viola Estates Residents Allied For Integrity, a homeowners coalition known as VERAFI.
The legal action names Mallia, Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, and Grossman through Viola Gardens LLC.
Raising additional questions for the neighbors is that Galanduer, a campaign contributor to St. Lawrence, also built the $200,000 extension to Mallia’s Airmont house, according to Airmont village records. The house’s sales asking price is now $1.29 million.
Mallia and his wife Randi, a former officer with the synagogue involved with the sale, are members of Temple Beth El, whose members joined the Reform Temple of Rockland.
Mallia declined comment on the development and Galanduer, referring questions to Ramapo Town Attorney Michael Klein. Attorney Ira Emanuel represented Grossman’s before the Planning Board but said Friday that he was not involved with the legal action. He also is a synagogue member.
Klein, a synagogue member with his wife, said that despite the predictions and speculation by the neighbors, there is no current impropriety in the construction since no one has moved into the development. He said no unit has been used in violation of the town codes.
Accessory apartments are not permitted, officials said. Conway noted that the developer advertised that accessory apartments would be available with the townhouses.
The legal action includes Mallia’s letter on March 4 to neighbor Zalman Goldstein stating that after getting caught violating the approved plans, Galanduer claimed he intended to ask the Ramapo Town Board “for permission to increase the density to allow the additional units.”
Mallia’s letter states Ramapo inspector Peter Muzzi found Galanduer’s construction did not conform to the approved site plans.
“Subsequently, revised building plans were submitted portraying the actual construction occurring on site,” Mallia wrote Goldstein, and “were approved as finished lower levels of the two family dwelling unit, not as additional units.”
While approving the updated plans, Mallia wrote to Goldstein, “We made it very clear that there is no approval and that no occupancy other than what was approved by the Town Board will be allowed at the site. We are keeping a close eye on the project.”
The legal action accuses the developer of making false statement and representations to the town in site plans, disguising the potential apartments on paper as non-habitable “sub-basements,” excluding the space from the overall size of the project.
“If there are no repercussions for a developer who gets permission to build ‘x’ and builds ‘y’, you have chaos and no zoning,” Conway said.
The development has drawn attention from watchdog groups, such as Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhoods, known as CUPON, and the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force. VERAFI, like CUPON, is dedicated to opposing spot- and down-zoning for developers, while protecting the character of local neighborhoods.
The legal action pitting Orthodox Jewish neighbors against an Orthodox Jewish builder and developer shows that people are frustrated and tired of out-of-control building that hurts their quality of life, said Justin Schwartz, a member of the Rockland Illegal Housing Task Force.
The task force has reported alleged illegal housing and schools and monitored the town’s prosecutions. Schwartz and other members contend the town court does little in terms of issuing heavy fines to discourage violations of the town zoning and fire codes.
State agencies have issued critical reports about Ramapo enforcement over the past few years. A former town fire inspector got demoted and suspended but not fired for filing false reports and ignoring fire-safety violations at private schools in town.
Schwartz and other task force members have said no other municipality would allow construction to continue in violation of zoning and the site plan, but in Ramapo that’s the norm.
“The frustration is there is a lack of enforcement as developers and landlords ask for ‘forgiveness rather than permission’,” Schwartz said. “I am encouraged to see people standing up against violations by developers, especially in the Orthodox Jewish community.”
