Foreclosure mail scam targets Nassau County homeowners
In recent weeks, 2,700 scam letters have been sent to Nassau County residents claiming they “need to take immediate action to keep your home” or that “property taxes have not been paid” and could soon be foreclosed upon. The mailers apparently came from a private law firm, which CBS reported as being “Galarza law firm of Massapequa.” The notifications sent people scrambling to local officials in Hempstead and West Hempstead to make sure their payments were up to date. “This is an attempt to drum up business by scaring residents,” said a Hempstead tax receiver. The firm, which apologized for the scare, got homeowners’ public records and only learned many of them were in fact up-t0-date after sending the mailer. [CBS]
May brought more construction jobs to Long Island
The number of construction jobs across Long Island increased in May compared to the same time last year, according to a report by Associated General Contractors of America. Long Island Business News reported that about 85,900 people were employed by the construction industry locally in May — that’s about 4,400 more than in May 2017. Neighbors like New York City and Orange-Rockland-Westchester counties all saw five percent bumps as well. These local trends match nationwide upswings with 263 metro areas reporting growth. [LIBN]
Renaissance Downtowns pledges to preserve LIRR parking for Huntington Station project
Ryan Porter, co-CEO of the Plainview developer Renaissance Downtowns promised that his company would preserve the number of parking spots in their plan for a hotel and apartments on Huntington Station land used by LIRR commuters, Newsday reported. About 240 spaces would be relocated as part of the development, but none would be eliminated, Porter said. State legislators recently approved the sale of the 4.16 acres of land to the town — a parcel currently occupied by parking spaces — which the town is then expected to sell to Renaissance Downtowns. Parking in the area is expected to be reorganized and more efficient, according to the Newsday report. [Newsday]
LI developer sells Water Hill manse to “Hamilton” producer for $7.3M
Sander Jacobs, a producer for the Broadway smash “Hamilton,” doled out $7.3 million for a 9,800-square-foot home built by Ronen and Jessica Guetta of the Roslyn-based Guetta Building Company, which is dedicated to building luxury homes. The couple bought the home in 2013 for $1.1 million and lived there for five years until they tore it down to build a new structure from the ground up. Douglas Elliman’s Tal Alexander and Compass’ Matthew Breitenbach handled the listing. [TRD]
Great Neck eatery site leased to Audi dealer
The onetime home of Union Prime Steak & Sushi in Great Neck has been leased to Biener Audi, which plans to build a 12,924-square-foot showroom and service facility, Long Island Business News reported. Biener signed a 30-year lease with owner BEB Capital of Port Washington, which felt the move was the best way to assure long-term stability for the “choice asset,” a company representative told LIBN. Stephen Wolf of SW Realty Capital represented Biener while Newmark Knight Frank’s Dan Oliver represented the landlord. [LIBN]