Long Beach board denies curb-cut variance at 74 Delaware Avenue after applicant testimony

At a City of Long Beach zoning board hearing, the board voted to deny the variance application from Patricia and Joseph Gummis of 74 Delaware Avenue to authorize a combined 30-foot curb cut for off-street parking. The motion to deny carried by a 4-3 vote after more than an hour of testimony and questioning.

The applicants told the board they lifted their house in 2018, which created parking beneath the house and left a detached garage on an adjacent lot. Patricia Gummis said they had secured multiple certificates of occupancy over time and that they believed earlier approvals allowed the current curb configuration. "We didn't even know this at the time," she said, describing how they discovered they had lost recognized off-street parking only after cementing the front area.

Board members examined whether the property still produced a legal "parking generator" (a garage) and whether the conversion of part of the detached garage into living space meant the property no longer met the code definition that would allow the larger curb opening as-of-right. The board discussed the technical measurements: the applicants described a historic 20-foot curb cut, an added 10-foot curb cut after the house lift (totaling 30 feet), and the 25-foot combined curb-cut allowance cited in the zoning code. Commissioners and the board attorney explored whether trimming five feet from the combined opening could bring the property into compliance.

Applicants said revised plans had been submitted and that plans and building-department approvals had been part of a confusing sequence; Patricia Gummis said contractors and building inspectors had at times approved work, and later inspectors required moving piers back, a change she said cost the household about $4,000. Board members said such factual claims about prior agency approvals would be record evidence only if supported by documentation and noted potential contractor liability if plans were built contrary to required removals.

After public comment was opened and no immediate public speakers stepped forward, a motion to deny the variance was made and seconded. Commissioners Elise (recorded in discussion as casting a denial), Brooks, Alvarado and DePasquale voted to deny; Commissioners Callahan, Markowitz and Chairman Morelli indicated support. The board announced, "This application has been denied." The board did not approve the requested larger curb opening.

A board attorney advised the applicants about remedies outside the board: they may revise the curb cut to meet the 25-foot combined standard or consult private counsel to file an Article 78 proceeding in Nassau County Supreme Court to challenge the board’s decision. The attorney cautioned that claims about earlier building-department approvals would need to be proved in a separate forum. The applicants acknowledged the options and said they might pursue remedial changes or legal review.

The denial concludes the board’s consideration of Case 3460. Applicants were given procedural options but no further board action was taken at the hearing.