Town seeks 10-acre lot in Roslyn Heights

The Town of North Hempstead wants to seize a 10-acre property within the Roslyn Country Club community that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and failed attempts by the town and residents to declare it historic.

The Town Board on Tuesday night voted to hold a public hearing May 31 about taking the property -- whose centerpiece is a mansion converted into an exclusive clubhouse for residents -- by eminent domain.

Levitt & Sons Inc. built the Roslyn Country Club development of 668 houses in 1949.

In 2002, real estate manager Manouchehr Malekan bought the clubhouse from a real estate investment trust that had acquired it in a bankruptcy proceeding. Since then, Malekan and residents have battled over usage fees.

"We see a need to take over this property for the good of the community," town board member Thomas K. Dwyer said during the council meeting.

Dwyer said the town would rather negotiate on a price than take the land by force.

But Malekan, in an interview Wednesday, said he was not aware of the town's intentions and called the move election year politicking.

"This is all a political hoax," Malekan said. "Do you think if they had good faith, they would want me involved?"

The club's on-site pool and tennis courts have been closed for five years, while the mansion is home to a catering and event business with a long-term lease, he said.

"I'm more than glad to lease [the club] to the town than have them condemn it," Malekan said.

The town council also voted Tuesday night to move forward with two lawsuits against Nassau County. One is over the county diverting sales tax revenue from towns and cities to pay subsidies for residents who attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Another has to do with Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who wants to audit the town's Clinton G. Martin Park District.

In both cases, the town believes the county does not have the authority.