Eventually, Sangi said, he allowed two of the group to walk through and inspect the property. The only thing he needed, they said, was a permit to move a kitchen sink. But when he applied for the permit, Sangi said he instead got a letter from Zweben informing him that after “extensive examination” of records he had determined that the use of the property as a boarding house in fact violated city zoning codes and was not entitled to the non-conforming use designation.
Paper trail
In his lawsuit, Sangi cited documents dating back to 1958 which identify the address variously as a “nursing home” “multi-family residence” or “boarding home.” The documents include operating permits issued as recently as 2013 as well as inspection reports and code violations.
But Zweben said this week all of those documents had been issued in error because the city had failed to distinguish between “nursing home” designation that 106 West Chestnut held prior to the zoning code and “boarding home” use it had acquired sometime in the mid-1970s.
“We believe that was a nursing home in 1963 and Kingston zoning law defines a nursing home and a boarding house differently,” said Zweben. “The law is crystal clear, notwithstanding errors by employees, that does not stop the city from enforcing its zoning laws.”
Gallo, meanwhile, said this week that he never mentioned any objections to housing disabled people at the residence. Instead, he said, he was concerned about Sangi’s record which includes a felony conviction in New Hampshire stemming from his operation of an allegedly shambolic drug treatment center. According to media reports, Sangi operated St. Jude’s residence in Ossipee as a faith-based drug treatment facility but failed to offer licensed drug counselors and other promised services to paying clients. Sangi served five years in prison for the crime. Sangi claims he was wrongfully convicted and said that state prosecutors dropped 14 of 15 charges on appeal. He added that nothing in his background legally disqualifies him from operating a boarding home.
“They thought because of my background I would just go away,” said Sangi. “But I’m not going to be bullied like that.”
Brown, meanwhile, said her opposition to the new boarding house was based on legitimate concerns by neighbors. Brown said that Heart Street had been a well-run operation that had not generated many complaints. But, she said, there were no assurances that a successor would not become a neighborhood nuisance.
“That’s a single-family neighborhood and it always has been,” said Brown. “People are worried about how it will affect their assessments and the whole character of the neighborhood.”
