When Michael Strahan’s marriage busted up three years ago, among the things he left behind were a 10-bedroom $5.795 million estate on Lloyd Road, a half-built garage in the backyard and a very unhappy neighbor.
The neighbor, David Greenbaum, describes the garage, which required a variance from Montclair’s board of adjustment back in 2002, as a “hulking colossus,” which blocks the sun, keeps shrubs from growing and makes him feel like he’s living next door to a Costco.
But if he’s mad at the Strahans, he’s even angrier at the town of Montclair for issuing building permits for the garage that allowed the Strahans to build a garage even taller, and with less architectural detail, than the one the board of adjustment originally approved. He also blames the town for allowing Jean Strahan, who got the house in the divorce, to let the project sit unfinished for so long. However, construction on the garage did resume this fall.
Over the seven years since the garage was first proposed to house Strahan’s car collection, Greenbaum has amassed scores of emails, letters, photographs and architectural drawings to support his case, including the two above. The drawing on the left shows the plan submitted to the board of adjustment in 2002. The drawing on the right shows the plan approved for a building permit a year later.
Even Greenbaum admits that the Strahans didn’t need to get a variance to build the structure now looming 12 feet away from his property. They only needed it to put cars inside. Town rules prohibit homeowners from storing more than four cars on a property, and Strahan — an avid car collector — applied for a garage to hold up to eight cars. But Greenbaum feels that the whole project was a “bait and switch” because the garage is substantially bigger than what Strahan originally applied for. When the house was originally listed on the multiple listing service, it was advertised as having a garage capable of holding 20 cars.
Although the original design called for a 27 1/2-foot tall garage, the current structure is 35-feet tall, Greenbaum says. He also complains that plans for windows in the garage were eliminated. A new plan calls for faux windows on the side facing Greenbaum’s house.
“This is all about ineptitude,” says Greenbaum, who blames Montclair Planning Director Karen Kadus for not catching the change in design. “They made a mistake. The first mistake was that they were enamored with Michael Strahan. Then there was a failure of oversight and a failure to enforce.”
Greenbaum plans to bring his case to the board of adjustment on December 16, and has also threatened to pursue legal action if the town does not demand that the garage be demolished or that it at least built to the 2002 specifications.
Township attorney Alan Trembulak, reached by phone, called the difference between the two plans “minor deviations.”
“We’re fully satisfied that the town did not do anything improper,” Trembulak said. “The building complies with all setback, height and other requirements. We’re reviewed this multiple amounts of times.”
He points out that if Strahans had been building the structure for anything besides cars, they wouldn’t have needed a variance at all. “If they’d been building the same structure to house children’s clothes, or football uniforms, they would not have had to come before the zoning board.”
Oh, this is devastating. Poor Greenbaum.
Seven years? The Strahans went through the variance process and got an approval even though it wasn’t necessary to do that? And now Mr. Greenbaum wants the town to order it demolished? I am all for extreme caution in approving variations in zoning laws (that’s what the laws are for in the first place), but I think Mr. Greenbaum is really stretching credulity here. If he wanted to go to court, he should have appealed the original Board of Adjustment decision before the garage was built.
If we use the prof’s logic, Greenbaum should have known the garage was going to be be built when he bought his house. It’s Greenbaum’s fault the garage is there.
It’s a shame it has the Strahan name attached to it. She was the general contractor for all the work that was done or in the case of the garage, not done.
Who cares? I am really enjoying the fact that the wealthy cant get along with each other. Boring.
It must be tough to have nothing to complain about other than a neighbor’s garage.
What is it with rich people and their property lines? Buy a house out in the boonies if you don’t want to live on top of someone else.
“A new plan calls for faux windows on the side facing Greenbaum’s house.”
Will these be faux Anderson or faux Pelam? I need to know!
Let’s all drive by Mr Greenbacks house and give him your vote.
One Beep – You don’t like it.
Two Beeps – You like it!
But the Strahans did need a variance and approval for their garage because it is against the zoning laws to house more than 4 cars on your property. Presumably this is because the town doesn’t want a lot of big hulking garages. When they applied for their variance not only did they need to make a case for the # of cars, but they had to get design approval. The variance was granted on the basis of the design submmitted and the # of cars proposed to be housed. To change it after the fact subverts the whole process. It is disingenuous to claim they wouldn’t have needed a variance if they were building something other than a garage. The point is, they needed a variance, and are now violating the terms of that variance.
Mtcmom is right, this is why there are zoning laws that require variances.
And further, the garage is hideous. I don’t think even the original design, let alone the one they are building, was compatible with the existing architecture of the house, which you can see over the top of it. I guess this area of Montclair isn’t part of a historic district or anything so perhaps that’s not required, but it sure is ugly.
Seems to me that 35′ tall garage has a flat, concrete roof. Park an M-B G series up there and the height goes to, what, 45′???
“I guess this area of Montclair isn’t part of a historic district or anything so perhaps that’s not required, but it sure is ugly.”
Let’s hope the people who actually sit on the historic district boards make such determinations with more than one single elevation to go on.
“Even Greenbaum admits that the Strahans didn’t need to get a variance to build the structure now looming 12 feet away from his property”
so there is no basis for a suit, then.
Good luck with that.
“Town rules prohibit homeowners from storing more than four cars on a property…”
Does that mean visible/outside? Or even in a garage?
I actually really feel for the guy. Our neighbors have built a big perspex addition to the side of their house that totally blocks the light/ view from our kitchen. Nothing can be done, as it is not a permenant structure – they did not require permission either. Makes me so depressed, and why should I move for their selfishness. They knew what the house was like when they bought it, if they wanted bigger – they should have bought bigger. I just hope a storm knocks it down.
that garage is butt-ugly. If my neighbor’s looming construction project was unfinished for 5 years I’d be peeved too.
Isn’t the house on the market? Why would they be adding this huge garage to a house they’re trying to unload?
I admit to having a degree of perverse satisfaction in knowing that there is equal neglect of homeowners’ property values, code enforcement, complemented by pandering to the dumbass rich and famous in all parts of town, whether they’re tossing balls, frying chicken and waffles or offering safe havens for fairy dust mogels. Four cars? NOBODY made the soul food & powder king pin on High Street move the small fleet of cars parked on his front lawn for at least a decade! Guess the daily free fried fat with a side of dust and shiny old cars made folks too sluggish or something to do their jobs.
Maybe the next township manager will penetrate the wall of indifference to taxpayers’ property values and quality of life, along with the “inner circle” mentality that has become the petrified core of our well paid and pensioned gov “work”force. If not, they can collect their money from their ballbouncing, powder puffin’ celebrities ’cause that’s all who is gonna be left in this town. Or, maybe those folks are already paying bigger bucks and better perks than the gov!
Best Comment ?
“Why would the Mrs. be building the garage when the house is 4-Sale?”
I know of an underground garage, with interior concrete walls, on private property , unknown to neighbors in back of a house. An small elevator down takes the owner down to it, and a LARGE cargo elevator, able to carry 5,000 pounds brings car and driver up and out and onto the paved driveway.
100% is invisable to anyone, other than 2 large metal doors laying flat on the ground, with pavement leading up to them. Years ago, it was on a clip on this medium.