42 The QUEE NS Courier • AUGUST 29, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com SCOTT BARON’S STAR OF QUEENS brought to you by SCOTT BARON & ASSOCICATES, P.C. Attorneys & Counselors at Law 1-866-WAS-HURT (866) 927-4878 718.738.9800 star OF queens Walter Mugdan Udalls Cove Preservation Committee Westmorland Association COMMUNITY SERVICE: Walter Mugdan is the president of both the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee (UCPC), an environmental conservation group, and the Westmorland Association, a small homeowners’ association in the Westmorland section of Little Neck. A Westmorland resident, Mugdan enjoys working for the organizations because they are both in the area where he grew up, and he cares deeply about the environmental well-being of his community. Because he lives in the area, Mugdan says that it was “only natural” for him to become a member of the UCPC, and has been working with them since the 1970s. JOB: Mugdan works for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. BACKGROUND: Mugdan was born in Flushing, and has spent his whole life in Queens. He recalls growing up by Udalls Cove Park, where he used to play all the time as a young boy. It was after he was diagnosed with asthma as a child that he noticed his aggravation at air pollution. FAVORITE MEMORY: “My favorite memories would have to be playing in the slivers of wilderness and undeveloped land on both sides of Douglaston, where I grew up,” Mugdan said. “I was very attached to those woods. It was a great place for a suburban kid to have a bit of area to play in growing up.” BIGGEST CHALLENEGE: When Mugdan became president of the UCPC in 2002, he was immediately presented with a difficult issue. The city had plans to turn a section of woods into a park, but although they had committed to the idea, they hadn’t acquired all of the properties to make up that area. Because of financial constraints, the city was having a difficult time buying the property from property owners. At the time Mugdan became president, eight of the approximate 45 necessary acres still had not been purchased, and the owners of four of those acres filed an application to build several homes on that property. This posed a serious problem, because these houses would have been placed directly in the middle of the proposed park, and all of the money the city had put into buying the properties would have been lost, and the previous four years wasted. INSPIRATION: “I really enjoy the outdoors,” Mugdan said. “I love the idea that in a huge metropolis like New York there are not only parks that you can have recreation in, but also parks where you can have a little slice of the natural world that’s still embedded here. So my inspiration is to maintain and improve that.” BY JOHANN HAMILTON Our job is making sure no longer goes that waste to waste. Find out more at ThinkGreen.com Energy creation. Recycling programs. Closed-loop solutions. Those are just a few of the innovations we’re delivering for customers and communities alike. We live in a world where things can no longer go to waste. That’s why Waste Management is working to get the most from resources. It’s good for business and the environment. ©2012 Waste Management, Inc. Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law THE EXPLOSION NEXT DOOR Advertorial Q: During an explosion at a nearby chemical plant, a chemical mixture was released into the atmosphere. The chemicals caused contamination and other damage to our home. Our insurance policy provides coverage for direct physical loss caused by certain perils, including explosion. Our insurer refuses to pay, relying upon an exclusion entitled “Wear and Tear”. Under that exclusion, the insurer does not pay for “loss which results from wear and tear, marring, deterioration, inherent vice, latent defect, mechanical breakdown, rust, wet or dry rot, corrosion, mold, contamination or smog.” A: No court should ever agree with your insurer that, because the damage to your home can be said to arise out of pollution or contamination, the exclusion for wear and tear applies. Rather, this exclusion is at best ambiguous and therefore must be construed in favor of you, the insured parties. Two facts, in particular, point in your favor: (1) the title “Wear and Tear” and (2) the context of such slow-acting causes as rust and mold. These facts lead an averaged insurance buyer, like yourself, to believe that the exclusion refers only to contamination that has occurred over time. Your attorney will argue that ‘wear and tear’ certainly does not refer to a sudden occurrence such as the incident in your case. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878
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