Thursday, October 1, 2026
Over four years after the Cedarhurst village board approved the long-debated Pearsall Project, Lawrence’s planning board has now gotten involved, as the project’s developer seeks to change the rental units planned for Pearsall Avenue to condominiums.
Pearsall Rock LLC, led by Tommy Lieberman, was approved by Cedarhurst in July 2022. The village’s approval involved the creation of an overlay district that changed the nearly 2.5-acre property’s zoning to permit the development.
It was halted due to litigation stemming from the lot’s proximity — within 300 feet — of other subdivision authorities, namely the Village of Lawrence and unincorporated land that is owned by the Town of Hempstead. The property is at the northeast corner of Rockaway Turnpike and Pearsall Avenue in Cedarhurst.
Pearsall Rock’s plans call for three three-story buildings, each 35 feet tall, with a total of 98 units and 221 off-street parking spaces. Vehicles would enter and leave on Pearsall Avenue.
Lieberman has also agreed to utilize a 5-foot strip of the property for a right-turn lane intended to improve the movement of traffic onto Rockaway Turnpike.
In November 2022, the Lawrence School District filed a lawsuit against Cedarhurst and Pearsall Rock, challenging the village’s environmental review and the zoning change that allowed the development. On Sept. 2, the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division affirmed a February 2024 decision by the Nassau County Supreme Court, upholding the zoning change. The appellate court found that the school district lacked legal standing to challenge the development, because its property is not close enough to the proposed development to presume that it would be negatively affected.
At the Lawrence Planning Board meeting on Sept. 9, the planning continued — amid debate about an initial proposal that had changed.
“The Village of Cedarhurst has already approved the development and its residential use,” William Bonesso, the attorney representing Pearsall Rock, said. “The present application before you does not seek approval of a new use or authorized additional development in any way. It merely changes the form in which the already approved residential units will be owned from rental units owned by one entity to condominium units owned individually.”
Converting the project from apartments to condominiums, Bonesso added, would give people an opportunity to own homes and create long-term stability in the community. The proposed conversion would also make the development ineligible for tax benefits through the Town of Hempstead’s Industrial Development Agency’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program, according to the developer.
Several residents spoke in favor of the condominium proposal, pointing to the opportunity for homeownership and for older community members to downsize while remaining in Lawrence.
Shoshana Tauber, a resident of the village for three decades, said she has lived in a co-op building on Central Avenue for 12 years. She said she wanted to downsize from her single-family home while remaining in the community she loved.
“Some of my neighbors are also people like myself, who have lived in the community in a one-family home, [with] both their children, and were ready to move out of their home, but not ready to move out of Lawrence Village and their community,” Tauber said. “There are many seniors in our community. Their children live here, and they would like to stay in the community. So I speak for those people: We need condos and not rental apartments.”
Saul Friedman, who lives on Stuyvesant Place, also spoke about the opportunity for families to remain in the community.
“I know a lot of younger families, with kids who grew up in Lawrence, and would love nothing more to come back and raise their families here the same way I was able to,” Friedman said. “But for that to happen, there needs to be a healthy supply of homes available. And I think the condo option can actually help create that.”
Other residents said they opposed the development, raising concerns about traffic and infrastructure in the area. Judy Bernstein argued that the area was becoming overdeveloped and losing its suburban character.
“Both streets are very narrow,” Bernstein said of Rockaway Turnpike and Pearsall Avenue. “Just one accident in this neighborhood throws this entire area into turmoil.”
Others voiced concerns about the potential strain on the water and sewer systems. Bonesso responded that the Nassau County Department of Public Works and Liberty Water had determined that both systems had adequate capacity for the development.
The planning board said it would announce a decision at a later date. Members declined further comment.
Have an opinion about the Pearsall Project? Send a letter to mberman@liherald.com.
