E. Setauket 'Makeover' neighbors happy for Lutz family

The demolition of a 50-year-old home will consume a normally quiet corner of East Setauket Tuesday, and neighbors said they couldn't be happier for the family that is losing the house.

That's because the demolition is part of a weeklong effort by television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to level and remake the home where Kathleen Lutz lives with seven of her brothers and sisters, six of whom have Down syndrome. The Lutzes learned that they would be the recipients of a new home on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Neighbor Betty Lightcap, who lives around the corner from the Lutzes' Ringneck Lane home, said she recently received a notice in the mail that someone in the neighborhood had won a new home and construction crews would be in the neighborhood.

Her first thought was "Oh, please, God, let it be" the Lutzes, she said.

Lightcap said she had always admired Kathleen Lutz for moving back into the home to care for her siblings after her parents died. Jack and Grace Lutz adopted Kathleen and 17 other children over the course of their marriage.

"Kathy gave up everything to come back, and that shows how big of a heart she has," Lightcap said.

Construction workers swarmed around the house near the corner of Ringneck and Pheasant lanes in the suburban neighborhood Monday as hard hats and members of the show prepared to knock down the home. The ranch-style house will come down around midday Tuesday and be completely rebuilt by midday Sunday, a source with the show said.

The scene will be open to spectators later this week, and the show expects thousands of onlookers, the show source said. More than 1,000 construction workers and volunteers will touch the site over the course of the week, said Seth Selesnow, spokesman for Plainview-based construction manager Alure.

Tuesday "is when the real fun begins," Selesnow said.

The Lutzes are on vacation in the Hamptons during the work, sources said. A limousine, painted to resemble a giant taxi, escorted them from the neighborhood Monday. The family did not speak to a reporter.

In preparation for today's demolition, trucks buzzed around the neighborhood, moving the family while safety workers maintained order in the quiet, wooded community. The scene attracted a minimal amount of gawking from neighbors, who were told they could not park on one side of the street.

Vikash Velji, a neighborhood resident, said he does not mind the inconveniences because "it's definitely for a good cause."

Velji added: "She looked after all the kids. If anyone deserved it, they definitely do deserve it."

The show featuring the Lutzes will air during the 2010-2011 television season, an ABC spokeswoman said.