GerritsenBeach.net

It looks as though Stephen Jemal did not hold up his end of a bargain with Sheepshead Bay Plumb Beach Civic.

If you don’t already know, back in June Stephen Jemal threatened to sue GerritsenBeach.net and SBPBCivic.org over a post that was made on SBPBCivic.org. It’s a long story, so read about it here.

At last night SBPPBCivic meeting where Jemal was a no show; all of the details came out about what led up to their demand letter, the negations and the agreement that was eventually reached with SBPBCivic.

As part of an agreement between SBPBCivic and Stephen Jemal, SBPBCivic would reword their original post as an act of good faith. In exchange Stephen Jemal was to come down to the local meeting and explain his neighborhood projects.

As for what happened to me: I never wanted to deal with them. My web server was attacked and brought down bringing down 120 other websites. I’m planning my next move, over the matter.

SBPBCivic is expected to make a statement (via SBPBCivic.org) and I am expecting that they will be looking very closely at Stephen Jemals projects.

Coming in via email

Tall poles, possibly for signs to advertise The Riviera at Gerritsen Beach which might offer 32 single and two family townhouses the 32 single and two family townhouses, have gone up at the property that used to be Danzas. I say might because the developer Stephen Jemal is being sued for $5.5 Million Dollar by his investment companies, so you never know.

Maybe SSJ development should be using its money to clean up the property at Lacon Ct instead of paying lawyers to send demand letters. I changed my mind…..they should keep paying their lawyers you never know when they are going to need them. *wink wink nudge nudge*

Looks like this “small blog” made the paper.

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, July 24th 2008, 5:35 PM

Nobody beats the Wiz - not even a blogger.

The feisty founder of electronics behemoth The Wiz is threatening to sue a Brooklyn blogger who published jabs against the businessman on his small Web site.

Read more here

On July 18th 2008, my website came under attack from a now known source, which I believe, based on information received, the attacker is CLOSELY CONNECTED to Mr. Stephen Jemal of SSJ Development. Let’s recap.

I posted a story about Mr. Jemal being sued for an alleged non-payment of a loan connected to his real estate projects in our area. I later posted a story about a “DoS Attack” on GerritsenBeach.net after it was contained, informing everyone of the resulting down time. I reported the incident to Verizon, the attacking IP’s owner.

Later that night after the attack, I received a letter via email from Stephen Jemal’s attorneys, demanding that I take down my post, citing defamation. Here is that demand letter.

I believe that the demand letter makes completely ridiculous and unreasonable demands of me and the website, including:

1. Removing the entire publication about Mr. Jemal
2. Removing any reference of the publication from Google, all other search engines, and other blogs (like I run Google and control their root user name and passwords!),
3. Publish a retraction / clarification approved by Mr. Jemal and distribute that throughout the internet,
4. signing a “non-disparagement” agreement, and… oh yeah
5. Sign an immediate settlement of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for legal fees, and additional consideration to induce Mr. Jemal not to file a lawsuit.

Whew! Mr. Jemal’s representation conveyed that the article “painted” him badly. (This Article)

Here is the problem with all of this: What statement did I make that was false? What statement did I make that was defamatory? Oh, that’s right… NOTHING. Needless to say, that demand was flatly rejected.

This is where things take a very interesting turn.

After posting about the DoS attack, I received multiple emails from ####@SSJDevelopment.com stating that he knows that someone VERY CLOSELY connected to Mr. Jemal, used a “bash script” that he had taught this person.

Upon reviewing the website logs, the script described was indeed the script used to attack this website. Based on the connection between the two pieces of information, I have reason to believe the author of the email.

Mr. Jemal’s attorneys have since told me that the attack on the site was the work of a “renegade employee” who acted without knowledge or authorization of Mr. Jemal. They also told me that Mr. Jemal fired this employee.

While I am not in total agreement with this statement (the offensive IP originated from the Jersey Shore where the alleged offender claims to live, not in Brooklyn where this “renegade employee” worked), I accepted their statement. I was also accused of using this information in an attempt to extort a settlement, which I was not doing at all – I was simply adding information to the negotiations, attempting to give all a fuller view of the circumstances surrounding the blog entry, and released the information with no thought to how it would “be painted” or inferred.

Stay Tuned! We remain on Red Alert (but will take off the annoying red color)and anticipate negotiations ending shortly.

(Stephen Jemal assumes the position for a Daily News writer. - Courtesy of Daily News)

The investment companies that fund the Jemal’s Brooklyn projects in Mill Basin, Gerritsen beach and Sheepshead Bay have filed a civil suit against Stephen S Jemal and Sharon E Jemal in Texas Northern District Court.

The companies “Gerritsen Beach Investments Ltd” and “Riviera Investments I Ltd” filed their complaint on 7/14/2008 the cause is stated as a “Contract Dispute“.

The plaintiffs claim that the  Jemal’s (Stephen and Sharon) have not paid them back $5,580,000 plus interest. The Jemals are also allegedly also refusing to pay them back!

Both of the investment companies are being represented by Todd Hoodenpyle of Singer & Levick

What does this mean for his existing construction projects? Time will tell.

• Here is the Complaint that was  filed in court [Warning PDF]
  

For anyone that picks this up in the media, it would be really nice to have a credit for breaking this story.

Updated: Below the Fold

(more…)

[screenedin / Soil Sampling]

[Coming in Via Email]

Continuing with the Soil Sample Saga. At the last Property Owners meeting it was discusses that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has closed the investigation at 17 Lacon Ct. They didn’t find anything at the site, but they reserve the right to reopen the case in case something is ever found.

Here is the DEC Spill Case #: 0507136

(more…)

Here are the updated plans for the SSJ Marina development on Knapp Street. (click for a larger image)

It does still have the 18 boat slips, and it does look smaller. This is what it was supposed to look like before.

Here is a PDF copy

Just in case you cant see the smaller sign here is a new and improved for the vision impared.

[Image: Is not the updated plans]

Marty Goldens office is saying that the SSJ marina over at Knapp Street will have a much smaller footprint in the creek than what was requested but it will still contain the 18 boat slips.

[screenedin / Soil Sampling]

Since the announcement of the SSJ Lacon Court project, residents have been demanding (at basically every meeting since) for soil tests at the site before any work begins. At one point, in what I’ve personally dubbed the “soil test saga”, residents took dozens of their own samples and brought them in to elected officials demanding them to be tested. Obviously the samples they took couldn’t be used, but it shows that the community is taking this seriously.

Residents were informed that the soil was tested by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), but the results are unknown. Not because the results came back unknown but because the DEC hasn’t returned the results to anyone.

Will anyone ever find out what the test results were?