It's gone, that rickety house in Woodmere

A longtime Woodmere eyesore has come down.

New owners of the Franklin Place house that was little more than rusted metal and rotting wood had it demolished last month. Residents were concerned that the deteriorating two-floor structure, built in 1903 near the Long Island Rail Road's Woodmere station, was a safety risk.

Property records indicate 202 Franklin Llc, based in Brooklyn, bought the property in June for $190,000. Representatives for the company filed an application for demolition on Oct. 31 and their request was approved on Nov. 15, said Ray Schwarz, supervisor of inspection services for Hempstead Town's building department. The town has not received any other applications for development or use of the property, he said.

"The plan is to improve the property," said 202 Franklin representative Susan Hollander, a real estate selling agent for South Shore Estate, based in Lawrence. "That is all I can say."

The property deteriorated during 14 years of legal battles between Martin Davis, who owned the home before he died two years ago, Nassau County, Hempstead Town and some of its employees. Davis alleged his constitutional rights were violated when workers entered the property in August 1996 to remove structures deemed unsafe and a fire hazard. The U.S. District Court in Central Islip ruled against Davis, who had owned the property since 1966, but he continued to file appeals.

After Davis' death, his daughter Teresa Padilla, of Apple Valley, Calif., sold the property and decided not to pursue his lawsuits, Town Deputy Attorney Mary Mahon said.

Davis' son, Roger Davis, of the Bronx, who has acted on behalf of his father despite his sister being the estate administrator, is still pursuing legal action against the town, Mahon said.

Neither Padilla nor Roger Davis could be reached for comment.