Last Thursday, Riverhead Town demolished a cupola atop a Baiting Hollow home that town officials said was dangerous and had been built without proper permits back in 2009. READ
Tag: Eugene Lafurno
Eugene Lafurno’s home two years ago in Baiting Hollow. (Credit: Paul Squire)
Times up for “The Epiphany.”
Eugene Lafurno of Baiting Hollow has been building what town officials call a third and fourth story onto his Founders Path home for several years, and town officials say it’s unsafe and was built without proper permits.
On Tuesday, the Riverhead Town Board approved a resolution to have the town engineering department remove the structure and is expected to charge Mr. Lafurno with demolition costs.
The Riverhead Town Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday on the tavern permit for the new Sonoma Grill planned at the former Riverhead Project site in downtown Riverhead. The tavern permit is a requirement for live music. (more…)
Eugene Lafurno at Wednesday night’s public hearing in Town Hall. (Credit: Tim Gannon)
A public hearing over whether or not a Baiting Hollow man’s home addition is safe turned into a colorful hour-long give-and-take between the property owner and the Town Board.
Eugene Lafurno pictured at his Baiting Hollow home, which he has dubbed ‘The Epiphany.’ Riverhead Town was given approval from a court last month to demolish the addition at the top of the house. (Credit: Joseph Pinciaro)
After taking a Baiting Hollow couple to court over an addition to their home — a project the town has called a health and safety risk — Riverhead Town was granted permission last month to knock the structure down.
The town, however, still needs to take certain steps to make that happen. (more…)
PAUL SQUIRE FILE PHOTO | This widow’s walk-type structure atop a Calverton home is the start of a grand plan to match an 8,500-square-foot South Fork mansion, the homeowners says.
A Calverton man who built a tower-type structure atop his Founders Path home is being held in Suffolk County jail after he was arrested for building code violations earlier this month, authorities said.
Eugene Lafurno, 58, was arrested April 5 on an active warrant issued in October of last year, court officials said.
Town officials say the half-finished tower Mr. Lafurno built may exceed the town’s height limit for houses and was built without a building permit.
It was the second arrest warrant for Mr. Lafurno and his wife, Doreen, to have been issued through the town police department related to building violations. In October 2009, the couple were issued a warrant for building a deck around the house without a permit, court officials said.
Mr. Lafurno is now being held on $1,000 cash bail.
Last month, Riverhead Town officials took steps to take civil action against the couple for the alleged violations.
COURTESY PHOTO | The Calverton home is being modeled after this South Fork estate on the market for $11.5 million.
Town attorney Robert Kozakiewicz told the News-Review last month the Lafurnos had submitted plans for a construction project on their home, but said the tower that grew out of the house didn’t match the plans submitted to the town.
The permits issued for the couple’s proposed project have also since expired, he had said.
In an interview last month, Mr. Lafurno — who has lived in Calverton for the past 20 years — said he was planning to match his houe to a five-bedroom, 8,500-square-foot mansion he once saw in Remsenburg.
The tower is currently topped with exposed wooden beams and tarps and will be the centerpiece of the home, said Mr. Lafurno.
He’s trying to model his home, which he calls “The Epiphany,” after a mansion currently on the market in Remsenberg that’s selling for $11.5 million, then sell it at a hefty profit, he had said.
Mr. Lafurno called “The Epiphany” his “free enterprise dream” and blamed the town and his neighbors for hampering his efforts, alleging they are members of a conspiracy seeking to trample his dreams.
In a rambling conversation that touched on ancient Egyptian deities and Jesus’ crucifixion, he also accused the Riverhead Police Department of “abducting” him and injecting him with drugs before taking him to a psychiatric facility.
“It’s a really beautiful house and these idiots are trying to stop it,” he had said.
Mr. Lafurno is due back in Town Justice Court May 7, officials said.