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Mostly Cloudy Hewlett homeowner ruffles Trinity Place residents
Trinity Place is a short, quiet street off Broadway in Hewlett that includes nine houses, the Fairfield Tudor apartment building and the parking lot of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library.
For nearly two years though residents have felt under siege as one homeowner at 36 Trinity Place has acted as the model for being a bad neighbor.
Residents said that David Lakhchakov (as noted by the Town of Hempstead in court documents, who wants to go by David Lak), advertised the house on Airbnb, the online marketplace for lodging, mainly homestays or vacation rentals, for $2,000 per night.
According to the residents the house has been used for parties and not just for the garden variety house party, but rented for huge gatherings and even weddings.
The parties have attracted what the residents said are large crowds “partying, drinking, etc., through all hours of the night and morning.” The residents claim that partygoers have urinated on the side of another home and with the swimming pool being used, the partygoers are urinating on a resident’s fence.
Calling the situation “untenable,” the resident have contacted the town several times and have had town code enforcement, along with Nassau County police, respond to their complaints.
As of press time, there is a town stop worker affixed the home’s front door describing two violations. One violation is for performing construction without a permit and the other is for doing plumbing work also without a permit.
Greg Blower, the town’s director of for communications said that the town “has worked aggressively, assembling a team of investigators specifically for this case, led by town code enforcement officers.”
“The Town of Hempstead has fielded a series of complaints against the property and occupant in question and to date has issued over 40 summonses for several code violations,” he said. “In addition the town is working closely with the Nassau County Police Department in an effort to curtail illegal parties and gatherings. Outside counsel has been retained, as the case is under litigation..” Court papers were served last week, town officials said.
Lak, 28, said that he feels like the harassed party, noting that his life has been torn apart by a bitter divorce that has placed him in a financial hole where renting the house became his only source of income. The salon he owned in Queens went out of business as well.
“You could a make a movie out my life,” he said, “I don’t know if I’m going to end up in jail with Nassau County police harassing me, the Town of Hempstead harassing me, my neighbors, it’s a stupid situation.”
He said he has been renting out the house for $1,000 per event/gathering at least four days a week to generate an income, and claims the neighbors are racist people attending the parties are people of color.
Built in 1913 on a 10,500-square-foot lot, the home is 2,644-square-feet and was bought in September 2018 for $705,000 by Lak and his wife.
The parties/gatherings have continued as neighbors told the Herald there was one on June 26, and the police were once again called to 36 Trinity Place.
