Engineer Plans Submitted for Hightower Homes Cleanup

The owner of Hightower Homes has submitted plans to fix up the two Kings Park buildings in hopes of sparing them from being raized by Smithtown town officials. 

_Newsday_ reports an engineer hired by Jeffery K. Brown submitted plans to repair and complete construction of two vacant single-family homes at 77 and 81 West Main Street. The plans come in the nick of time as Brown had until Thursday to submit the plans. 

John Bongino, Smithtown's building director, said the drafted plans outline window and porch fixes, siding removal and inspection of the interior girders and supports. Bongino suggested "minor changes need to be made" to Brown's plans in a memo to the town board. 

Brown said the revisions would be completed by Wednesday or Thursday. 

Given these actions, Smithtown town officials do not have plans to discuss the future of Hightower homes at Thursday night's board meeting. It was not listed on the posted town agenda. 

Smithtown town officials have threatened repeatedly to raise the two homes, calling them eyesores to the Kings Park community over the last four months.

Brown won ownership of Hightower homes in a lawsuit against Frederic Powell, currently serving jail time for unrelated fraud and conspiracy, in December 2012. Brown alleges that Powell defrauded his family and appeared before town officials in January to beg for time to clean up the property. 

Since then, Brown and town officials have publicly gone back and forth over the future fate of the buildings. Smithtown town board has voted to seek contractors to move forward with demolition of Hightower homes, to later relent and grant reprieve as long as the property's cleanup and safety is secured. 

Read more on _Newsday _[subscription required] about the drafted plans for Hightower homes.