Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 67

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TCI triRrSMl U09 -J-W V-'r-l MArikorf me you getting Burned Homes Show Risk Of Living Close to Nature "aH Burr Firm Name Now Past Tense Car 11 Burr Inc one of the best known names in Long Island real estate has gone into the history books and a new name Merrill Lynch Realty is going up on the offices and for-sale signs of the largest real estate brokerage in Nassau and Suffolk For the past six years the firm had operated with a dual identification: Merrill Lynch RealtyCarll Burr Inc Use of the Burr name by the firm which has been 80 percent owned by Merrill Lynch Inc since 1980 came to a halt on April 22 when the giant financial services company bought the 20 percent of the firm owned by the Burr family Terms were not disclosed Carll Burr president of the jointly owned firm now is residential vice president of Merrill Lynch Realty with responsibility for the 30-office Ns gss -Suffolk operation based in Huntington He said that his father Carll Burr Jr the chairman and his stepmother Barbara Burr vice chairman are now consultants Burr said the sale of his stake and the name change were terms of the original agreement with Merrill Lynch He said that under the agreement either the Burrs or Merrill Lynch could exercise an option under which the minority ownership would be purchased by Merrill Lynch Burr said that the decision made to exercise the option was mutual The ownership change took place exactly a week short of the anniversary of Merrill purchase of the firm which was founded in 1947 as Carll Burr Real Estate Tn- City Condo Power Among the leading topics at casual gatherings and cocktails parties these days is real estate one good reason why New York City residents have much to gab about: Prices of mtinwiiwinma in elevator buildings in Manhattan increased an astonishing 78 percent last year And the increase in the prior year was a not-so-shabby 39 percent But the Real Estate Board of New York which released the figures this week expect such dramatic increases to continue since even in New York such bursts cant be maintained indefinitely Much of the increase the board says was fueled by investors buying already occupied condos for speculative purposes Those who got into the market in 1983 or early 1984 obviously guessed right But then hindsight is always 20-20 part EAB Consolidation European American Bank which occupies most of Long largest office complex EAB Plaza in Uniondale is consolidating its executive offices in the new 75-story CitySpire building on West 56th Street in Manhattan The operational division of the bank will continue to be located in Uniondale but the executives now scattered among half a dozen sites in New York City will be relocated to eight flows in the CitySpire according to developer Ian Bruce Eichner Man Wax Bradford said This is especially true of people lived in their homes a number of years "A lot of companies now offer automatic upgrading that guarantees full replacement coverage In addition the standard policy gives a certain percentage of coverage to detached buildings such as a garage or shed If these tend to be more elaborate than the norm then additional coverage should be sought Woodbridge said Askey in filing his own claim found that his insurance may not cover the entire loss Yet still upbeat as he plans to rebuild Many might admire attitude considering that only last fell Hurricane Gloria destroyed all the windows on the two 7-hy-ll-foot greenhouses he had added to his master bedroom and kitchen Replacement glass had just been delivered and inside his home fox' safe-keeping when the i struck An insurance company arrives at the premium based in part on an independent rating of fire departments that all insurance companies use said Edward Held underwriting manager at Allstate Insurance Cos Towns are classified from 1 to 10 with the top rating given to fire departments in areas such New York City In those municipalities there are accessible fixe hydrants and systems that supply water instead of relying on underground wells Other factors determining the rating include whether the fire department is made up of volunteers or full-time fire fighters added Woodbridge "Also the farther away a fixe department is from a home the higher your fire protection premium will "Most of Long Island is in favorable town laid Held said is "Some comp however npanies By Joe Catalano FTER LOSING his waterfront home in Fire Island Pines to windswept flames last week Darrell Askey said he never thought of his property being destroyed this way The ocean outside his front window always seemed more of a hazard than the surrounding woods When buyers are purchasing a home on Fire Island in Suffolk's pine barrens area or in any of the other heavily wooded districts Tm sure the last thing on their ui is fire" said Riverhead Town Fire Chief Dennis Hamill But for people living among the scrub pines and brush as Askey nd hie neighbors unfortunately learned the threat of fire is reaL The fire destroyed five expensive homes and damaged three others and hundreds of fire fighters were ferried to the community located south of Sayville And to some fire chiefs such as Dennis Hamill a growing concern about the rampant growth of homes in these areas Each year the burgeoning population puts more of a strain on his department Hie "We keep getting busier and busier We answered 80 more alums in 1985 than the year be- ION Hamill is also concerned that developers are building their detached homes and condominiums too dose to the forests "They want to make it seem like their developments are in untouched he said Hamill believes there should be a buffer zone of about 30 to 40 feet between the buildings and the woods Other fire officials expressed different concerns For Mark MacPhersen East Hampton Town first assistant fire chiefs the problem is one of access "We ask homeowners to cut back trees on driveways so trucks can get in Some driveways are so heavily landscaped you cant get a truck "You think of the danger of fire until it threatens you or someone you said Micaela Woodbridge administrator of corporate turns at Aetna life Insurance Co Said Askey about the fire that broke out in the community where he lived for 22 years "After this Tm sure everyone is looking into his own A smart move say insurance industry experts inea often not until a homeowner is knee-deep in ashes that he discovers how poorly his property is covered Those living in these wooded areas don't require any special type of coverage said Woodbridge ha air homeowners policy has fire insurance built into she said Homeowners tend to get into trouble when underinsured me with a mortgage is required by the lend-ive insurance up to the value of the loan NEWSDAY SATURDAY MAY 17 1966 RfiSl EfttatS 3 might be afraid to write policies for Fire Island being they have limited fire departments as well as homes costing a lot of When fire does break out in areas such as fixe Island or the pine barrens one cause is natural combustion However many begin through the sheer carelessness of people "There has to be more public awareness about said Chief Hamill In the 1950s when Smokey the Bear was warning about the dangers of fire "it stuck in people's he said "Today the last thing on minds is Because of this you see cigarettes being thrown from car windows and dirt bikes which give off sparks being ridden through wooded TO prevent fires "People have to remember living in the middle of the said Man-orville Fixe Chief Joe Danowski Jr The reason prevention is so important is that if a fixe does break out in a forested area really nothing you can to save your home Hamill said "You can dear the brush a safe distance from your home But after that you just have to hope the fire department gets there before the fire What a indr require said Woodbridge is that the mortgage holder have a i any more than that "People should ask themselves if their home is insured for what it would cost to rebuild today she Joe Catalano it a free-lance writer ionq tuorttw egioris ot 9313 i (rflAAV 1 I.