Calling the meeting “productive,” Bethlehem Planning Director Robert Leslie said the town will spearhead convening a stakeholders meeting, including Legend Preserve’s homeowners’ association and new property owner, Starlight Development Co., to determine responsibility for the next steps in completing the project. Leslie said the situation is further complicated by federal and state wetland mitigation requirements, as well as National Grid holding an easement on the wetland areas, which requires permission for access.
Leslie explained that former developer Hodorowski Homes LLC held the state-required Stormwater Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, known as a SPDES permit. That permit is tied to the developer. It is required before a builder can disturb land, either for construction or wetlands mitigation.
Leslie said DEC only recently terminated Hodorowski’s SPDES permit, opening the door for another applicant.
“This is a terrible situation caused by Hodorowski and all these entities are left trying to figure out a solution to get the subdivision completed,” Leslie said.
Entrance sign to Legends Preserve in Glenmont, previously developed by Paul Hodorowski of now-shuttered Hodorowski Homes, Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Further complicating the situation, Leslie said, is the fact that the town cannot perform services on private property. He pointed to swale maintenance as a contentious issue. He said that because the swales lie on private property, the HOA, not the town, must be responsible for them.
As for items such as overgrown weeds, Leslie said if they lie in the town’s right of way — within 13 feet of the edge of the road pavement — and they are obstructing vehicles’ line of sight, the town is authorized to trim them. He said he was unaware of any such requests.
Leslie said in his 20 years working for the town, a developer leaving a project unfinished has never happened before and the town is trying to pull together solutions. He said that while town code requires escrow funds to complete certain postconstruction items, such as additional landscaping or road paving, the town cannot control their completion.
“We rely on there being value in completing those lots, so we always believe they are going to complete the project,” Leslie said.
In the future, after the Legends Preserve experience, he said the town might consider implementing additional safeguards to ensure project completion, such as timing thresholds in approval documents or other phasing.
Falling victim to developer
The Legends Preserve, a conservation subdivision off Jolley Road in Glenmont that features two- to three-bedroom townhomes and some single-family houses, promised a community of custom-built townhomes. It was to be built in three phases, with phases one and two completed.
Paul Hodorowski
Phase 3 work stopped after developer Paul Hodorowski of now-shuttered Hodorowski Homes was arrested in August 2024 for felony larceny and later filed for bankruptcy.
According to a Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office May 14 press release, Hodorowski pled guilty to one count of felony grand larceny relating to a check-kiting scheme, resulting in bank losses totaling more than $1.5 million. Under the plea agreement, he will be sentenced to one to three years in state prison, on condition that he pay $738,000 in restitution to a bank headquartered in Glens Falls and additional restitution to several subcontractors who Hodorowski allegedly defrauded.
Schenectady Assistant District Attorney William Lemon said the Legends Preserve is not included in the plea agreement’s restitution condition, but was unsure why.
Lemon said that after the DA’s office issued the press release many more alleged victims of Hodorowski came forward.
Hodorowski remains out of prison until his sentencing date in January. If he fails by the sentencing date to make the required restitution, Lemon said Hodorowski could then face a sentence under state law of between 8 1/3 to 25 years for his crimes.
Starlight remains a player
Four lots, two vacant and two with partially built townhouses, remain unfinished. Deeds recorded in the Albany County clerk’s office show ownership of the vacant lots at 20 and 22 Joshua Place transferring to Starlight, a real estate mortgage company and the lender, in 2024.
Owner Donald Lucarelli said Starlight also holds the mortgage on 24 and 26 Joshua Place, the sites of two partially completed townhouses, and is currently in foreclosure proceedings to obtain ownership. Lucarelli said the four units were left when “Hodorowski went bad.”
Lucarelli said he submitted a proposal to the town under which he would handle the wetlands mitigation work, build two townhouses on the vacant lots and complete the two townhomes that are partially constructed.
“I’m trying to get rid of a big eyesore,” he said.
A boarded-up, incomplete duplex at 24 and 26 Joshua Lane casts a shadow on completed projects within Legends Preserve in Glenmont, previously developed by Paul Hodorowski of now-shuttered Hodorowski Homes, Sunday, July 19, 2026.
He said to complete the project he would have to spend $250,000 on wetlands mitigation. He claimed the town has been unresponsive to his proposal. But he also said the town was asking him to take actions he believes are the HOA’s responsibility, such as building swales behind residents’ homes.
Lucarelli predicted that if he does not hear from the town by the time the second foreclosure action is concluded, giving Starlight ownership of the two lots with partially completed townhomes, he will decide whether to move the project forward or sell the four lots at auction.
“The clock is ticking. If I don’t have an answer before the auction, I will auction the two units and will take a write-off and abandon the project,” he said.
Leslie said the town advised Starlight that it was working through the SPDES issue with DEC. He recognized that had taken some time. However, Leslie said he understands that Starlight is prepared to complete both the construction and wetland mitigation work, which he called a “relief to the town.”
He said that, notwithstanding Lucarelli’s statement about moving forward, in order to do so Starlight must apply for and obtain a SPDES permit from DEC, get approval from the Army Corps of Engineers on a wetlands mitigation plan and obtain access permission from National Grid.
Leslie remains hopeful that it can all be accomplished before Lucarelli takes ownership of the second property and must decide whether to move forward with the construction and wetlands work or sell at auction.
Dealing with the aftermath
According to homeowners, Phase 3 residents continue to live with unfinished infrastructure, stormwater/swale management issues and overgrown lots containing construction debris. Sheri Ackerman Canfield, the HOA’s first president who lives in the Phase 1 sector, said the HOA is losing revenue from four potential homes.
Another resident in her 80s, who lives across from the two unfinished townhomes, complained about the buildings’ condition. She moved into her Joshua Place townhome thinking she and her husband would be living “our best lives, but I’m looking at a mess every day and it’s been two years.”
She blamed the builder and said the HOA should not be held responsible for the unfinished work either. She suggested the town should at least be more responsive to questions and provide timelines.
“If they have no answers, tell us they have no answers. But I hate to think the town is just sitting back doing nothing.”
Town Attorney James Potter said the developer is responsible for completing the project. He said here the town’s legal authority is limited to inspecting the two existing structures, and only if they are determined to be unsafe would the town then have the authority to demolish them.
“We don’t have the authority to complete a house someone else owns,” he said.
He noted that no one has called for knocking down the existing structures. He called them “unsightly” and an “aesthetic issue,” but not currently unsafe.
Leslie confirmed that the buildings are not currently slated for demolition or deemed unsafe. He said the town’s building inspector is aware of the situation and conducts inspections of the property as he deems necessary to ensure that they are secured against entry and not unsafe. Lucarelli agreed.
“Structurally, they are very sound,” he said.
With overgrown grass, a boarded-up, incomplete duplex at 24 and 26 Joshua Lane casts a shadow on completed projects within Legends Preserve in Glenmont, previously developed by Paul Hodorowski of now-shuttered Hodorowski Homes, Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Whose responsibility?
Canfield said she understood the HOA was to assume responsibility for all common areas, such as swale maintenance, after the property was turned over to the HOA upon completion of the building project. But the builder never completed the project, said Canfield.
She said Hodorowski abandoned the property, leaving an uncompleted stormwater system, retention pond and swales that fail to meet town code requirements. She described this as the “town’s infrastructure, not ours.” She said, ”We don’t have the money. The HOA would have to assess the homeowners. That’s crazy.”
In an October 2025 publication on the Hodorowski situation, the HOA advised that the town contacted the HOA in June 2025 to discuss the HOA’s responsibility for maintaining and inspecting the swales.
Canfield believes the town has the funds to remediate. She pointed to an escrow fund that was transferred to the town in September 2024. Town Clerk Kim Whitsitt confirmed that the bank transferred the $109,000 escrow and that the town deposited the sum in a money market account.
The fund, which originally held just over $186,000, was designated to pay for Phase I infrastructure in public areas such as road paving, Leslie said. He reiterated that, by law and under the escrow agreement terms, the money cannot be used to fund projects on privately owned land or residences. Whitsit reported that the account’s remaining balance is $97,581.73 after expenditures to satisfy past-due stormwater and highway inspection charges and late fees incurred in 2024.
On July 7, Canfield emailed the town supervisor, Town Board members and the town attorney, asking the town to take “appropriate action” to bring the area into compliance with applicable codes governing stormwater, safety and property maintenance. She attached a petition with signatures from 43 residents joining her.
“The homeowners did not create this situation, but we continue to live with the consequences every day,” she wrote.
Canfield also asked for a meeting with the town but has not received a response. Leslie said the town is communicating directly with the HOA on the issues, rather than with individuals.
Legends HOA president Chris Miller said in a written response to a request for comment that he has no comment due to an ongoing legal issue. No lawsuit has been filed by the HOA against the town. Miller acknowledged the town is working with the DEC and the HOA to find a solution.
Canfield described the experience as a cautionary tale for the town as it contemplates revising its zoning code to increase density.
“This is a real-life example of what can happen when the town is not prepared for something not expected,” she said. “The town should understand that if it wants to develop more and grow more, it has to be done with accountability so if something unexpected happens the homeowners aren’t left holding the bag.”
Another resident added, “Maybe more development is not the thing right now if we are going to run into Legends situations all over town.”
Leslie said Hodorowski’s situation is unrelated to density issues. He said the town can handle any new development under either the current zoning code or the proposed amended zoning code by imposing potential new conditions of approval.
“I don’t know the answer,” the resident said, ”but I know it’s a mess here.”