for, you know, from the free library. So, again, this is something my clients are very community
oriented and they're looking, you know, to, you know, again, they employ 70 individuals from this
community in general. So they're they're trying to do whatever it takes to be considered a good
neighbor so but this is the zoning hearing notice posters from both public streets and this is
larry street to right property as you can see this is the icmx properties which are across the street
from us and then against larry street to left the property again more of this icmx use
and then contensing avenue again you can kind of see it here this non-residential use and
consenting to the left of the property. Again, same thing. And then this is what the property
looked like when my client purchased the property. It was in great disrepair. My client put a lot of
heart and money into this property. So those were the existing conditions when my client
purchased the property inside and out. And then this is what the property looks like now. It's
just a nice, clean administrative office that has three full-time employees.
Again, a light use of the property. The people that come by are their employees who work off-site
who are just merely picking up a paycheck, or maybe there's an interview here and there where
my clients are interviewing new employees. And then this is our plans and drawings. So if you
look at it, first floor, here's the reception area. And here's that open area here that we have.
And then there's an office, a bathroom. And then in the lower level area, it's just more openness
where filing takes place and stuff like that. What my client proposes, and if this board feels
so inclined to grant this revision to the project is that, you know, by way of proviso,
we would say that first floor and lower level would be the business and office use, and
then the second floor would be a single-family unit, where, again, you see a bedroom, bathroom,
open floor plan with a living room there as well.
We did meet with the community on April 15th at 6.30 p.m., but we've had many communications
with community leaders about how to make this work for both sides.
We emailed that notice beforehand, showing proof of mailing of that notice to 59 addresses.
These were the addresses we mailed it to, proof of mailing to those addresses.
Our applications for appeal, I believe actually my client had a different counsel at the time,
along with the notice of refusal in the project information form,
the deed to the property showing that Ms. Cava owns the property, and then the certificate of
the deeds of the property showing that Ms. Cava owns the property,
and then
tax clearance. I'm going to stop sharing my screen. I would ask that either Mrs. Cava or
Mr. Cava virtually raise their hands. I have asked them to be sworn in, and then I have a few
questions for them. Chair, we have Anthony Cava. He has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Mr. Kaba, please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Mr. Kaba, please unmute yourself.
Mr. Kaba?
Hi, Mr. Kaba, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
My name is Anthony Kabba, spelled A-N-T-H-O-N-Y, last name K-A-B-B-A.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Tony, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
And is it true and correct?
True and correct, yes.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, I do. Thank you. Questions from the board.
I have a question. The side door that was shown
on the diagram, is that the way that you would enter into the upper unit
or is that part of the basement storage entrance?
Let me take a look. My understanding
And is that the second floor unit, the residential units on the second floor and there's a common entrance on Larry Street.
But let me take a look and see what you're referencing. So let me just share my screen again.
so you you mentioned this door here i believe that's has the only access this door has to
is to lower level to the first so that would be in the commercial space but
there's a common entryway on the first floor well it's not even the first floor i would say
just the way how the building is sloped um but this would be the main area for the business
there'll be a vestibule area. You go to the right. You go into the commercial space. You go up a
flight of steps. You go into the residential space. Did that answer your question, Ms. Graham?
Yeah. No, I was just wondering if you're going to have the employees coming back and forth to pick
up their checks and if they were using that entrance or is that just going to the lower
level? It's hard to tell. Mr. Tony, what usually happens with that door? Who uses that door? I
don't know the answer to that so when they when they come we come out and give them the chair
okay so that really is mainly for people who are stopping by we put it on that door because
the instruction says start to place on the door close to the streets close to the streets
where people can see it no we know why we post why you posted the orange notice poster there
But I'm saying, what's the functionality of that door? So you're stating under oath that the functionality of that door, how you how you use that property is basically that's how the that's where the employees come to visit the commercial space and that's where they pick up their checks.
That's where we come out to our employee.
I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.
You broke up.
that's where we will use to meet the employee
so I think you're saying
we have double gates on that side
there is another door on that side
if you go like towards the middle
oh so there's a second door as well
on that side
I think we'll wait for the resumption here
and we'll do a better job of getting
you see the second door
and between the other car
yeah but that is not
oh I see right here
it's blocked by that car right here okay all right we'll do a better job of getting a better
angle of that so there's two doors actually for that lower level then and this um question
this so these the parking on the side that's that's uh all this part of this property or how does that
work i think that's on street parking i don't think that's off street
I think that's on street parking.
I don't think that's off street.
That's a curb cut.
So next to the.
The entrance door that we just talked about.
Is that part of the property or is that the property next door that they own and they're parking on?
All right. Mr. Kahn, but do you, do you actually park on, on, on the sidewalk there?
Because my understanding, this is a corner property, but I could be wrong.
Yeah, that's the corner of the party.
Then the guy who fixed the car also gives us space that we park.
So there is a curb cut there?
It's a parking lot.
Yeah, it's a parking lot.
Oh, parking lot for the next door neighbor.
I got it.
So he gives you the ability to access that driveway to temporarily park your vehicles.
Does that make sense, Mr. Johns?
It does and it doesn't. So my question is, you've got two doors that are entering, look like they're entering onto that parking lot.
And so I'm not sure. I guess there's a side yard. I don't see a site plan or anything.
Yeah. So we took over this case from someone else. So obviously, I'll do a better job of getting this, you know, definition.
So I'll get, you know, for the resumption here, I'll definitely be able to have a better, do a better job of that.
Right. OK, because it's a little unclear as to whether or not those doors enter onto that parking lot, which.
Well, Alan, I thought he said that there's somebody there that repairs cars and let him use a spot.
Is that what he said? I think, Mr.
Kama, just confirm what I my understanding.
There is someone who has a driveway next door who has a property next door that goes into a parking lot and he allows.
And I guess it goes through Mr.
that that side area and we're allowed to he allows us to temporarily park her car there
or or employee's car is that correct miss uh tony that's sure the guy owned a car shop and
allow us to park there next door a car shop yes a car shop which is not affiliated with our
property no but we have a driveway but the you're you're but yeah so i guess i guess for your next
time around you need to make sure we've got plans that kind of our site plan that kind of clearly
identifies what the parcel is um the other the other only other question that i really have or
issue that i have is with the signage and i don't know that we're here for signage but it seems like
a lot well it is signage yeah and you're completely okay yeah and you're mr johns you're completely
right. It was a lot. And our office has been working with
our client and the community to remove that, to make it more
respectful. And so we have, that was one
of the asks from the community. They asked us to
first to remove the ATM, then to
remove a lot of the signage there because they thought it was a little bit much too.
That's horrible. Yeah, so we are
working with our client in the community and um that's part of why we were hired okay all right
thank you okay my questions are um one when did you say or did you say uh when was this property
purchased um it was purchased in 2018 according to my notes okay and then it was renovated and
would have used for this use?
There was aesthetic work done to the property
after my client purchased it.
And then, yes, he used the property
not realizing that he needed to get
a zoning permit here for that use.
But I was done without getting permits initially.
And then you said that there are three employees
that are in the property and they're doing whatever i guess this is back of house like
activities for a business what business is it because you said something about
there's a hundred employees that are nursing age yeah they're they're they're taking care of a lot
of elderly people in the in the neighborhood in the surrounding area they're they're they're in
they're in home uh providers so someone who's taking care of someone's mother or someone's
grandmother or so you know but they're not doing any work on the premises like the only
the purpose of this office is to have an administrative office and a hub for people
for the employees to come pick up essentially their paychecks and you know once in a while
someone gets interviewed but it's a very light use of this property okay and then the the whole
But it's a very light use of this property.
Okay, and then the whole process of providing these in-home nursing services, they're done someplace else?
They're done in the home of the client, the patient.
There has to be some coordination process, correct?
I mean, how is that being done through this office or is there some other office or how is this?
Honestly, I think, again, I can have Tony speak to that, but my understanding is that they get a phone call, go to this, go to this house, perform services at this house.
And then that's the extent of it. And the only time these employees ever show up to the hub, to the building, is to pick up their paycheck.
but uh tony is is is my understanding correct of of this process um and my name is sylvia
can i say something sure what no why don't why don't we swear around first okay so why don't
you state your name and spell for the court stenographer my name is sylvia my is s-y-l-b-i-a
and my last name is
K-A-B-B-A.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, my lord.
Please proceed, counsel.
Sylvia, you're the owner of record
with regards to this property, right?
Yes, please.
Okay, and you're the one
who works there as the operator
of this business, right?
Yes, please.
You said yes, right?
You were going to interject something about the operations of the business?
Like you said, this is an administrative office where me and two other employees work here.
So I come here not five days a week.
The two employees are here five days a week between nine to four.
the purpose of this office only we have over 100 employees so most our trainings are done online
applications are done online everything else except we have less than um as of today we have
less than 20 people that comes here between monday and tuesday just to pick up their checks
and leave. So they spend less than a minute here
because they just pick it up. Most of them, we just give it to them
and they leave. Because of some reason, they don't have
direct deposits, even though we encourage them to do
so. Others have direct deposits, so they really don't have to
come to the office. The nurses, we go out
and assess. We go out and
and supervise essentially the um employees they don't have to come to the office because we go
out and do all those administrative work and trainings most of our trainings are done online
okay all right and then uh can we go back to the uh picture about the awning sign yes please