Dear Saltaire friends. Thank you for being so welcoming to us since
we moved in 12 years ago. We love how special the people of Saltaire
are. Playing sports, sharing food and drink, celebrating life’s
victories and being there for each other when things go wrong is the
fabric of our community.
The government is taking our house to build a
new dune. We don’t have the power to ask them to amend their plan by 10
feet or to point out that our home survived super storm Sandy.
We are a silenced and need a Saltaire solution. I hope you'll let Mayor
Cox, the Saltaire Board of Trustees, and Suffolk County Executive Steven Bellone
know that they should make the land
behind our house available so we can replace our house at a fair price.
If my Dad ever helped you with a medical problem, my Mom smiled and
laughed with you, or my sister beat you at tennis please consider
helping your neighbor. (Newsday article posted below)
As condemnation threat looms, owners of Saltaire home fret over dune project
A
sturdy Saltaire house superstorm Sandy couldn't topple is the first on
Fire Island to face condemnation to make way for federal dunes, and its
owners are desperately trying to save it.
Suffolk County has started wielding its eminent domain powers to acquire land needed for the storm-protection project, focusing first on Kismet and Saltaire.
For the Strauss family, that means their beach house on Pacific Walk could be facing bulldozers soon.
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"It's
absolutely nothing fancy, but it's what my wife dreamed of her entire
lifetime -- to be on the ocean," said Dr. Elton Strauss of Roslyn, who
married his wife, Karen, 44 years ago.
"From the time we first got married, that's all she talked about, 'Someday I just want a little oceanfront house,' " he said.
The couple bought the three-bedroom house, raised on 30-foot pilings and wrapped in gray shingles, about 12 years ago.
The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which plans to spend $207 million of
Sandy relief funds reinforcing a third of the 32-mile-long barrier
island with 15-foot-high dunes, has said about 20 homes, almost all in
Ocean Bay Park, must be demolished to clear the path. The dunes would
erode too quickly if built in front of those houses, the Army Corps
says.
Suffolk
is charged with buying the homes and obtaining easements from more than
400 property owners. The county went to court last week to start
eminent domain proceedings in obtaining four of the easements, in Kismet
and Saltaire.
County
Executive Steve Bellone has vowed to "minimize impacts" on homeowners. A
spokesman declined to comment on specific properties.
The Strauss' home is the only one in Saltaire facing demolition. Lamented Elton Strauss: "We are 15 yards too far south."
The
family still hopes to save the home by moving it to the vacant
quarter-acre lot directly behind it. The village of Saltaire owns the
lot, which is tangled up in a lawsuit over whether it can be developed.
Strauss said he never wanted a mansion -- just a modest summer house.
"I
just wanted somewhere I could wear shorts and T-shirts, play with my
children -- and now with the grandchildren and dogs," he said.
Though
he is an orthopedic surgery professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in Manhattan, the summer home was a bit of a stretch financially.
Karen
Strauss, a harpist, said: "I'm a musician and for years and years, I
used to play sometimes up to six weddings in a weekend, and when people
would say to me, 'Why are you killing yourself, why are you working so
hard?' I would say, 'Because I would like a beach house someday,' and it
became a joke in the family."
She added: "We came and took one look, and we decided we would scrimp and save and get it."
The couple feel welcome in Saltaire, she said. In medical emergencies, neighbors turn to her husband, who would never refuse.
"We have more tennis balls and wine from people he's treated and never has charged," Karen Strauss said.
Locals
call their home the "Baum" house, as it once was owned by Dwight James
Baum, an architect whose Depression-era buildings include New York
City's West Side YMCA. Baum also is a distant relative of "Wizard of Oz"
author L. Frank Baum.
Since the dunes were proposed two summers ago, the Strausses have been waiting to learn if they can buy the adjacent lot.
"It's been a terrible thing over our heads," Karen Strauss said.
Now
she fears Labor Day might mark the end, when the family will have to
pack up all their belongings, so dune-building can start before winter.
Saltaire Mayor Robert Cox said the village has discussed selling the empty lot with the family.
However,
Saltaire must wait until it knows whether a neighbor, who sued to keep
the lot from being developed, again appeals after losing two rounds in
the lower courts.
After the Aug. 22 appeals deadline, Saltaire plans to put the lot up for sale, Cox said.
Saltaire must act in the best interest of all residents, which means a developer could offer more than the Strausses can afford.
The
couple ruled out one option: moving the house back about 10 feet. They
said that would have prevented any future additions, and their
ocean-view deck would have been right against the new dune, which could
worsen any storm damage.
The
Strausses, who would be compensated for their home at an appraised
value if it's demolished, have yet to receive a buyout offer, according
to their lawyer, Sean Cronin of Mineola. Zillow, an online real estate
data firm, estimates the home is worth $1.3 million.
As the pressure mounts, Elton Strauss is digging in.
"My
personality is one where I'm going to fight until the last bulldozer
comes," he said. "My dog and I will be sitting on the deck, and they can
come and get me."
