Published in The Roslyn News, January 16, 2009. Written by Joe Scotchie.
Civic Association Wants Country Club Open To Residents’ Usage
Recently, residents of the Roslyn Country Club neighborhood gathered at The Wheatley School to launch a campaign to, as they termed it, “Take Back Our Club,” meaning the establishment of which the neighborhood is named for.
An estimated 400 people attended the meeting, one that was hosted by the Roslyn Country Club Civic Association.
The Roslyn Country Club neighborhood encompasses 668 homes. Civic association members note that those homeowners have legal rights to use the Roslyn Country Club’s building and facilities, which include a pool and tennis courts.
For the past two summers, the club, now owned by Manny Malekan of Corona Realty, has not been open to those residents. Such residents are now in litigation with Corona Realty to have the club open once again.
The Roslyn Country Club was constructed in the mid-1940s on 10.5 acres of land with pools, tennis and basketball courts, a playground, and a clubhouse. In both 2001 and 2006, Corona Realty, according to civic association members, filed lawsuits against homeowners in the Country Club neighborhood. The purpose of the lawsuits, civic association members claim, was to seize the club’s easements. After the latter lawsuit, the club closed to local residents.
“Not only did we purchase rights to join the Club by paying more for our homes, but Corona purchased the property at a price less than that of many single new homes in the area, solely because the owner was expected to operate the Country Club,” said Heather Schwartz, a member of the civic association.
Repeated efforts over the past month by The Roslyn News to contact Mr. Malekan proved unsuccessful. Since he purchased the club, Malekan has leased the clubhouse to a caterer. Upon purchasing the club and taking such actions, he also cited the club’s earnings losses.
After Corona filed its 2006 lawsuit, local residents defended the litigation, which was dismissed in early 2008. In addition, they leveled multiple counterclaims against Corona Realty, which, as noted, are currently in litigation. The Wheatley School meeting discussed the current litigation status. Ms. Schwartz, who served on the Civic Association’s legal committee, was joined by Vice President Andrew Rothstein and committee chair Todd Zarin to discuss other options besides litigation. That strategy includes enlisting the support of Town of North Hempstead officials and such public displays as road signs, some of which can be seen along Roslyn Road.
Where are we in our pursuits to get the club back?
The sun is just beginning to rise on our efforts here in uniting our community to reopen the Roslyn Country Club.
As for the legal actions that have been ongoing, I do not know specifically – I recently read that last month an appeals court judge rejected the current owners request to overturn the Town of North Hempstead’s designation of the Roslyn Country Club a landmark. I guess that means houses won’t be built on the property anytime soon.