News

Causeway house controversial from start

The Pelliccia house on the First Causeway as depicted on the front page of the December 15, 1962 Reporter. The caption described its construction as “controversial” and noted the fill needed to raise the height of the foundation.
 
 
 Vincent King, Hap Bowditch and Building Inspector Michael Minenna were the only people in attendance at the Town Board’s reorganizational meeting on January 7, 1963, a meeting focused on Mr. Minenna’s employment status after issuing the building permit for the causeway house “in direct violation of the Zoning Ordinance.”

The front page of the December 15, 1962 Reporter includes aphoto of a house under construction with a caption that begins:

“Controversial house at head of Coecles Harbor on Ram Islandcauseway as it appeared last weekend.

The caption goes on with some details – “Elevation of land wasraised by fill and contractor added about two feet to height offoundation before starting framing – but it says nothing about whythe home of Santo Pelliccia of Farmingdale was controversial. Therewas no accompanying news story.

Perhaps the photo spoke to the controversy, or it went withoutsaying because Island readers were in the know.

Today, the site is a hot topic again. Several people have spokenout about the property, currently owned by Alex Zagoreos. It is tobe the subject of a January 22 public hearing for a wetlands permithe needs to demolish the fire-damaged house. The owner plans tobuild a new house beyond the wetlands regulated area. Whether thehouse plans will be subject to Zoning Board of Appeals review, asTown Supervisor Jim Dougherty and others have called for, remainsto be seen.

One speaker, Linda Holmes, recalled at the December 8 Town Boardwork session that, through the years, “The property has had a lotof issues, and described a history rife with political controversy.Ms. Holmes said that Town Supervisor Evans Griffing was so furiousat Building Inspector Mike Minenna for issuing a building permitfor the house and offering his services to plumb it that Mr.Griffing “told the inspector to leave office and told him to leaveShelter Island.

Forty-seven years ago, the Reporter recorded a piece of thathistory but also acknowledged many unanswered questions. After thatlone cover photo, coverage of the causeway house picked up again inthe January 12, 1963 issue:

Board reappoints inspector after acceptingresignation

In a move which raised some eyebrows and left some questions tobe answered, the Town Board last Monday night reappointed MichaelMinenna to the post of building inspector.

The action came as a surprise to many because in recent months,several Board members had charged openly some of the inspector’sdecisions had placed the board in an embarrassing position. It isknown that notable among these was the issuance of a buildingpermit for construction of a house on Ram Island causeway in directviolation to the Zoning Ordinance.

The Reporter learned after the meeting, which was the annualorganizational gathering to set official wheels in motion for 1963,that Minenna’s reappointment was contingent upon his resignation,not later that March 31, 1963. This, however, has been denied byone board member and confirmed by another. Still anotherindividual, in a position to know the facts, remarked: “Some peopletalk too much.

The Reporter also learned the subject brought a lengthyclosed-session debate, with two board members strongly opposed tothe reappointment.

Minenna, however, said he could cast an entirely different lighton the events leading to the issuance of the permit for the houseon the causeway and the board’s recent action as well, but said hewould refrain from any public discussion of the subject as long ashe is in office.

Possibly lending some credence to the strange procedure is thefact that Milton C. Sherman, retired building contractor, wasappointed deputy building inspector to the Zoning Ordinance by thesame meeting, to serve in the event the regular inspector isabsent. There has never been such an office in the past.

At the same time, there has never been an office of deputysupervisor, but Judge Chester D. Sherman was named to the postMonday night. Supervisor Griffing hailed the move as “a necessaryand proper step for the continuity of the office, to which Shermanreplied he hoped “it turns out to have been a thoroughlyunnecessary procedure.

The office of building inspector seemed to be the main topic ofconversation after Monday’s meeting however, and while Town Boardmembers seemed loath to provide details, criticism of the boardaction by the man on the street ran high.

The following week, the Reporter published this front pagestory:

Conflict of interest cited in inspector’sremoval

A conflict of interest was reported this week as the motivatingreason behind the Town Board’s recent request that BuildingInspector Michael Minnena resign his position.

An authoritative source told the Reporter state law clearlyindicates that the Board may not legally appoint to a paid post anyindividual engaged in a business related to that post. Minenna is aplumber by trade.

This conflict would have been compounded, it was said, becausethe Board is moving toward adoption of the N.Y. State BuildingCode.

According to the March 9, 1963 Reporter and records provided byTown Clerk Dorothy Ogar, the Town Board met on March 5 of that yearand accepted the resignation of Mr. Minenna effective March 31,1963 “with regret. Mr. Minenna is mentioned again in the 1963Reporter on May 6 as the newly elected Lions Club president.