No more empty promises. On Friday that was the message that the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals delivered to Harry Macklowe, the billionaire real estate developer whose 64 West End Road property has long flouted village law.
Mr. Macklowe is eager to sell the place, which, since January, has been listed for $32.5 million. He cannot do so, however, without a valid certificate of occupancy. To get one, his representatives have come before the Z.B.A. twice since April, bearing plans to clear up scores of violations.
It took Gabrielle McKay, the deputy village clerk, over three minutes to read them all at the meeting. “It’s the longest notice I’ve ever had to work on,” joked Lenny Ackerman, whose firm, Ackerman, Pachman, Brown, Goldstein & Margolin, represents Mr. Macklowe. A fair number of variances are required to mitigate environmental damage done over the years, including revegetation plans and an updated I/A sanitary system.
Most relate to wetland setback violations. The 2.71-acre parcel — a mini-peninsula that juts into the entrance of Georgica Cove, with nearly 1,000 feet of pond frontage — is highly sensitive. Mr. Macklowe will need permits not only from the Z.B.A. but from the East Hampton Town Trustees and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
While Billy Hajek, the village planner, indicated that the plans are headed in the right direction, he also made clear that words and plans alone wouldn’t be enough.
“How the work gets done, and when, is something that needs to be laid out in detail,” he told the board. “Whether the village has a bond, or some other mechanism, because the property owner has shown disrespect for village code and ignored stop-work orders in the past. I ask for the applicant or village to come up with a way for this to get done, so we are no longer dealing with this.”
A performance bond, for example, possibly issued by the Building Department when Mr. Macklowe receives a building permit, would likely be for twice the amount of the work estimates. In other words, if it cost $1 million to complete the work, a $2 million bond would have to be posted, money that could not be returned until the village is satisfied with the results.
Neither Mr. Hajek nor Joseph Palermo, the village’s chief building inspector, returned repeated requests for comment.
Mr. Macklowe purchased the property at the end of 2017, and shortly after began battling the village over violations. He received a permit to remove phragmites, which he did, but when inspectors arrived to check the work, they reported that not only had the property not been revegetated as promised, but several structures had been added without permits.
Violations were issued; violations were ignored. Lawsuits were pressed; lawsuits were lost. Through it all, Mr. Macklowe’s house remained, whiter than ever, at fault.
Now, he would like to settle, Linda Margolin, another of his lawyers, told the board. That would include returning the entire eastern portion of the property to close to what existed when he bought it, but keeping some of his changes to the west, close to the pool.
“This board is well aware these improvements were made without required permits and variances, and that falls under the heading of self-created hardship. But I do want to remind the board that self-created hardship is not a reason for denying the variance,” Ms. Margolin said.
Also speaking for Mr. Macklowe was Richard Warren, president of the environmental planning and permitting firm InterScience, who admitted that some of the homeowner’s actions “hadn’t made it easy for the village to approve” previous plans, when he’d attempted to “legitimize everything.”
“We’re not here to do that,” Mr. Warren said. “The Ackerman firm pushed the applicant really hard to try to come forward with a resolution.” Mr. Macklowe does hope to keep some of his changes to the pool patios (they were brick before, now they are concrete and were expanded), but from an environmental perspective, he argued, they represent a “de minimis” change.
Instead, Mr. Warren highlighted environmental benefits. There will be less lawn on the property than when it was purchased. Mystery plastic pipes (“of unknown origin”), thought to carry runoff from the roof of the house directly into Georgica Pond, will be removed and drainage structures installed. Mr. Macklowe has agreed to upgrade the septic system, even though, said Mr. Warren, nothing requires him to do so.
“The mitigation that’s proposed here is not completely inconsequential,” he concluded. “I mean, I wish we weren’t here under the circumstances, but we are where we are and we’re trying to straighten it out.”
The board appeared confused about the conflicting plans and timelines.
“It would be useful, just as part of the material being presented, to understand what was there, what’s been done, and what’s being proposed,” said Joe Rose, a member.
“Could you clearly show the dates of each map and maybe schedule them so it’s very easy to identify which maps are being referred to instead of, sort of, a pile of maps?” asked Abigail FitzSimons.
There were other questions as well. While Mr. Ackerman was clearly eager to move the matter forward, Mr. Warren commented that it might be difficult to get the board everything it wanted, with enough time to review it, before the next Z.B.A. meeting.
