Greenport expected to strip Kaplan’s Market of variance
Nearly five years after the owner of Kaplan’s Market in Greenport won his battle to allow commercial use of his building in a residential area, the Greenport Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to rescind the variance today.
Building inspector Eileen Wingate said she cannot issue a certificate of occupancy on the property since owner Jeffrey Gordon has not satisfied the necessary covenants and restrictions pertaining to the building’s use.
At the time the variance was issued in 2006, Mr. Gordon was given six months to begin construction and take other steps necessary to bring the building in line with requirements for his CO. By July 2009, Ms. Wingate said Mr. Gordon had done the necessary construction except for an issue over the repositioning or removal of a window on the north side of the building that looked out on the property of his neighbors, Kenneth Mac Alpin and Margaret Richards. Two years later, Mr. Gordon has still not complied with all requirements needed for the CO.
“He did everything except the C&Rs,” Ms. Wingate said. “He’s been asked and he hasn’t, and we’re moving forward.”
Mr. Gordon couldn’t be reached for comment. But signs appear in the window offering the space either for sale or rent.
The ZBA approved the variance in 2006 allowing for commercial use of the property in an R2 residential district after several years of Mr. Gordon wrangling with his neighbors. But it listed restrictions on hours of operation and the type of business that could be conducted at the Kaplan Avenue site.
The ZBA waived an earlier requirement for Mr. Gordon to put up new gutters and leaders on the building, and didn’t require him to make the site handicapped accessible, since the work to bring it up to code was not new construction, according to Ms. Wingate.
