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Clash over property use leads to arrest
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By Art Cusano
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Photo courtesy of Nick Witchowich
Many residents of Yorktown’s Maple Hill Street are upset over what they say will be the second business operating at 1920 Maple Court. The owner of the property, Andrew Sabo, has plans before the zoning board of appeals to build a two-story garage on his property.
Several residents of Maple Hill Street in Yorktown Heights are steaming mad over a neighbor’s intention to build a large garage on his property, and that anger boiled over last weekend when one was arrested for threatening the property owner’s life.
Richard G. Milanese, 40, was arrested Saturday afternoon for threatening his neighbor, Andrew Sabo, and another man.
Sabo alleged that Milanese threatened him with an axe, but said he did not want to comment further on the incident.
Police arrested Milanese on the misdemeanor charge of menacing and was later released on his own recognizance.
Neighbors contend that the proposed garage would be the last straw in an ongoing series of nuisances they say have been created by the residents of 1920 Maple Court, and are pleading with the town zoning board of appeals not to allow the building in their neighborhood.
The plan calls for a two-story, 2,880-square foot garage to be built on the property that would house up to 24 cars.
Yorktown Supervisor Don Peters said the town’s zoning board of appeals (ZBA) has postponed discussion on the matter until its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 25.
“They (the applicant) submitted new diagrams, and the building inspector wanted time to study them and make changes,” Peters said.
Nick Witchowich, a longtime resident of Maple Hill Street, spoke at a recent town board meeting, asking the town to intercede in the activities at Sabo’s home. He read off a long list of complaints.
“The town has been ignoring our issues,” Witchowich said.
Witchowich said the residential-zoned property is being used as the headquarters for Cheap Snake Sewer and Drain, a commercial plumbing business listed online on Citysearch and Yahoo, and has three commercial vans being stored on the property.
Neighbors also contend that the property is being used to restore and sell used cars. Witchowich claims that at sometimes there are as many as 25 cars on the property and the adjacent public street, many with “For Sale” signs on them.
The neighbors claim the noise being generated by the business is a nuisance that lasts into the night.
Sabo said that the allegations being made against him are false.
“It’s all lies,” he said, who refused to further elaborate for legal reasons.
Sabo said he has hired an attorney and said he was considering legal action against Witchowich for claims he has made in the media and elsewhere, including one concerning his septic.
“He said I have a leaking septic in my yard, but I’m not on a septic,” Sabo said.
ZBA member Greg Bucci said the application is still being considered, and the board is hearing both sides of the story.
Bucci said there is no precedent that the ZBA follows for such decisions because the variables are different in each case, but he said his board was very aware of the concerns of the neighborhood as well as the applicant.
“It’s a very tough line the zoning board [of appeals] walks,” Bucci said.
Yorktown Councilman Nick Bianco said he thought that the application would get granted in one form or another.
“I don’t like it myself,” Bianco said. “I don’t believe a business should be in a residential neighborhood.”
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