Sea Cliff residents voice grievances loud at village meeting

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The Village of Sea Cliff’s monthly meeting on Monday escalated into a war of words between residents and trustees during public comment. After board members updated attendants on the work of their various committees, residents took to the podium to air their grievances regarding issues they believe require greater resolve.
A few residents shared their qualms over Cliff Way, a county road, which was converted into a one-way street last fall to reduce traffic congestion. The measure was recommended to the village by the Nassau County Department of Public Works in August to the dismay of many residents who live near the street.
“The one-way on Cliff Way has turned a three-month problem into a six-month problem,” said Jerry Romano, who lives just off of Cliff Way on Prospect Avenue.
Before the proposal, the village turned Cliff Way into a one-way street during the summer to limit congestion. Romano argued that keeping the street one-way year-round has further “exacerbated” traffic on surrounding streets and has “made a bad situation worst.”
He asked the board if there were any metrics to prove whether employing the one-way directive made the street “safer.” Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy explained that a recently formed group, Shore Road Neighbors, was conducting a study to address prevalent beach traffic on The Boulevard, which intersects with Cliff Way at the end of the block.

The group, which is made up of residents from Sea Cliff and Glen Cove, and local police and elected officials, was formed to develop traffic-calming measures for the thoroughfare, which connects the two communities.
“As we start to see a large increase of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on Cliff Way and The Boulevard, my paramount concern is general public safety,” said Mayor Edward Lieberman.
Neighbors of the vacant house at 14 Bay Ave. — which was bought by Malachite Group Ltd., a developer, in 2015 — thanked the village for issuing summons against the owner but said that more is needed to be done to address the potential safety issues the property poses.
The structure first became an issue in 2014 after a landslide destroyed two retaining seawalls on the property’s cliffside. Recent storms have progressively eroded the cliff, leaving several feet of the house’s foundation totally exposed. Neighbors worry the house could eventually collapse into Hempstead Harbor if left undeveloped.
Malachite sought approval from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to go forward with its plans for the property — the bulkhead and the beach below the property are under state jurisdiction — but when Kennedy met with the owner’s contractor, he indicated the “approved plans are cost-prohibitive” and that they plan to go back to the drawing board to modify their proposal.
“We’re close to a year away from [construction] even beginning, and we’re already four years into it,” said Dr. Elaine Kanis, who lives at 24 Bay Ave. “Until an actual step is taken to remediate this problem, that property is in violation of code.”
Sea Cliff’s attorney Brian Stolar said that because elements of the property are under state jurisdiction, the village planning board does not have primary oversight of the developer’s plans.
Resident Sebastian Li, who lives at 26 Bay Ave., called the situation “a serious safety issue” for individuals who vacate the beach below. “There are kids hanging out there all summer long,” he said.
He suggested the addition of a caution sign to warn residents of the crumbling hillside at 14 Bay, but Stolar said such a measure poses “major legal implications to the village,” which he was not at liberty to discuss in a public forum.
The Board of Trustees will convene on Monday, June 4 for a conference, and hold its public comment meeting on Monday, June 11 at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in Village Hall and are open to residents.