Sunday, June 14, 2015
Bye-bye bungalows
In the heyday of the Catskills in the 1950s, some 50,000 bungalows blanketed Sullivan County, according to Sullivan County Historian John Conway. Today, they're becoming extinct.
Replacing them are developments filled with new year-round summer homes, townhouses and modulars. All are meant to serve thousands of summer visitors - the bulk of whom are Hasidic and Orthodox Jews - who will be making their way to the county in the next few weeks seeking the open spaces and cool mountain air of the Catskills.
The fact that bungalows - typically a wood cabin structure inexpensively built on piers - no longer measure up to the state building codes is one reason for their demise. Plus, many towns want to preserve the open spaces and rural character they feel the old clustered bungalows destroyed, Thus, those towns have updated their zoning laws to create less density by specifically prohibiting bungalow colonies. Those towns include Sullivan County's largest - Thompson, Bethel, Liberty, Mamakating and Fallsburg.
Fallsburg's updated zoning regulations even went as far as to state, “It is the intent of the Town of Fallsburg to not promote the expansion of bungalow colonies.”
“The bottom line is you can’t do bungalow colonies,” said Town of Bethel Supervisor Dan Sturm. “The ones that exist are fine, but we want to redevelop others."
When Fallsburg was in the process of updating its zoning regulations in October, some developers felt it was trying to get rid of the Jewish communities.
“At the end of the day, nothing can be developed with one unit per five acres,” said developer Sam Charach. “It’s trying to drive out Jewish people.”
But other developers say they're fine with the new regulations.
Abe Grossman - who develops homes for summer communities - says he’s making a better product. And that’s what his customers wanted.
“The lifestyle over the last 30 to 40 years has changed,” Grossman said. “They need air conditioning and upgraded units.”
Late last week, Leo Castillo, owner of L.C. Construction, was putting the finishing touches on 61 summer homes - at 1,500 square feet per unit - on 30 acres of land in a development called Forest Park Estates on Anawana Lake Road in Thompson - the same road that's lined with old, rundown bungalow colonies like Miami Beach.
The single-family homes feature 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms and an unfinished basement. They even have granite-top counters in the kitchen.
They also are built on actual foundations. That’s in contrast to bungalows, which were built on stilts or cinder block piers.
Ben Mossberg, the developer of Forest Park Estates, says he put his “heart and soul” into the project.
“Everyone wants to make sure what they’re doing is perfect and that they do the best they can,” Mossberg said.
But Sullivan is still dotted with scores of old bungalow colonies. And while he couldn’t nail down exactly how many are left, Conway says there are more than people would think.
Conway dispelled the notion that existing bungalow colonies only serve the Hasidim. Some, in places like Lake Huntington or Bethel, are co-ops, where upscale and artsy city folk essentially own their units and transform them into year-round homes.
Thompson Supervisor Bill Rieber is pleased with the recent development of Forest Park Estates - a symbol of the death of the bungalow colonies, and what's replacing them.
“It’s nothing more than an everyday housing project,” Rieber said.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150614/NEWS/150619583
Replacing them are developments filled with new year-round summer homes, townhouses and modulars. All are meant to serve thousands of summer visitors - the bulk of whom are Hasidic and Orthodox Jews - who will be making their way to the county in the next few weeks seeking the open spaces and cool mountain air of the Catskills.
The fact that bungalows - typically a wood cabin structure inexpensively built on piers - no longer measure up to the state building codes is one reason for their demise. Plus, many towns want to preserve the open spaces and rural character they feel the old clustered bungalows destroyed, Thus, those towns have updated their zoning laws to create less density by specifically prohibiting bungalow colonies. Those towns include Sullivan County's largest - Thompson, Bethel, Liberty, Mamakating and Fallsburg.
Fallsburg's updated zoning regulations even went as far as to state, “It is the intent of the Town of Fallsburg to not promote the expansion of bungalow colonies.”
“The bottom line is you can’t do bungalow colonies,” said Town of Bethel Supervisor Dan Sturm. “The ones that exist are fine, but we want to redevelop others."
When Fallsburg was in the process of updating its zoning regulations in October, some developers felt it was trying to get rid of the Jewish communities.
“At the end of the day, nothing can be developed with one unit per five acres,” said developer Sam Charach. “It’s trying to drive out Jewish people.”
But other developers say they're fine with the new regulations.
Abe Grossman - who develops homes for summer communities - says he’s making a better product. And that’s what his customers wanted.
“The lifestyle over the last 30 to 40 years has changed,” Grossman said. “They need air conditioning and upgraded units.”
Late last week, Leo Castillo, owner of L.C. Construction, was putting the finishing touches on 61 summer homes - at 1,500 square feet per unit - on 30 acres of land in a development called Forest Park Estates on Anawana Lake Road in Thompson - the same road that's lined with old, rundown bungalow colonies like Miami Beach.
The single-family homes feature 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms and an unfinished basement. They even have granite-top counters in the kitchen.
They also are built on actual foundations. That’s in contrast to bungalows, which were built on stilts or cinder block piers.
Ben Mossberg, the developer of Forest Park Estates, says he put his “heart and soul” into the project.
“Everyone wants to make sure what they’re doing is perfect and that they do the best they can,” Mossberg said.
But Sullivan is still dotted with scores of old bungalow colonies. And while he couldn’t nail down exactly how many are left, Conway says there are more than people would think.
Conway dispelled the notion that existing bungalow colonies only serve the Hasidim. Some, in places like Lake Huntington or Bethel, are co-ops, where upscale and artsy city folk essentially own their units and transform them into year-round homes.
Thompson Supervisor Bill Rieber is pleased with the recent development of Forest Park Estates - a symbol of the death of the bungalow colonies, and what's replacing them.
“It’s nothing more than an everyday housing project,” Rieber said.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150614/NEWS/150619583
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