Lòt Fantom nan Lake Drive: Istwa 82 Lake Dr, Lake Peekskill. Kache nan yon tòde trankil sou Lake Drive, jis anlè dlo a ki briye, gen yon ti moso tè ki fasil pou neglije—82 Lake Dr. Li se sèlman 0.11 ak, e sof si ou konnen pi byen, ou ta ka pran l pou yon lakou bò vid oswa yon jaden bliye. Men, yon fwa, te gen yon kay isit la. An 1998, yon dife te kòmanse e li te boule kay la jiska tè. Gen kèk moun ki di li te kòmanse nan kwizin, lòt yo blame yon ansyen chofaj espas. Kòz la te disparèt nan lejand lokal, men sa ki soti apre a rete douloure klè: pa gen anyen ki te kanpe isit la depi lè sa. Pandan plis pase de deseni, lòt la rete vid—pa touche, pa leve, ak ensèten. Kwasans sovaj te piti piti antre. Kèk wòch ap sòti nan tè kote fondasyon an te kanpe yon fwa. Pafwa nan prentan, jaden flè ap fleri kote yon jaden te ka te ye. Men, gen yon rezon poukisa pa gen anyen ki bati. Lòt la, malgre li te devlope yon fwa, kounye a tonbe anba zòn LP nan Vila Putnam—kote yon minimòm de 2 ak se mandatory pou nouvo konstriksyon. Ak sèlman 0.11 ak, 82 Lake Dr se lwen konplè. Menm si te gen yon kay ki te kanpe, règ zòn jodi a fè pwopriyete a tounen nan yon kalite limbo birokratik. Pou je ki pa antrene, li ka sanble tankou yon opòtinite pou detwi. Men, nan pratik, li pi konplike. Rekonstriksyon ta pwobableman bezwen apwobasyon pou chanjman oswa lide redevlopman kreyatif—e sa yo pa vini fasil. Pou envestisè yo, li se yon defi teknik. Pou achtè ki gen vizyon, li se yon tès pèsistans. E pou moun lokal ki toujou la, li se yon pwen repère trankil—yon rapèl sou yon fanmi ki te viv isit la, sou yon dife pèsonn pa bliye, ak sou kijan yon kay ka disparèt pandan tè a menm rete konsève nan tan. Nan imobilye, chak mòso tè rakonte yon istwa. Kèk istwa se sou liks. Kèk sou opòtinite. E kèk, tankou 82 Lake Dr, se sou sa ki te yon fwa—e sa ki ka ankò, si yon moun oske pou mande kesyon ki dwa yo.

The Ghost Lot of Lake Drive: The Story of 82 Lake Dr, Lake Peekskill. Tucked into a quiet curve along Lake Drive, just up from the shimmering water, lies a small and easily overlooked piece of land—82 Lake Dr. It’s just 0.11 acres, and unless you knew better, you might mistake it for an empty side yard or a forgotten garden. But once, there was a home here. In 1998, a fire broke out and burned the house to the ground. Some say it started in the kitchen, others blame an old space heater. The cause has faded into local legend, but the aftermath remains painfully clear: nothing has stood here since. For more than two decades, the lot has sat vacant—untouched, unmoved, and uncertain. Wild growth has slowly crept in. A few stones poke out from the soil where the foundation once stood. Sometimes in spring, lilies bloom where a garden once might have been. But there’s a reason nothing’s been built. The lot, though once developed, now falls under LP zoning in the Town of Putnam Valley—where a 2-acre minimum is required for new construction. At just 0.11 acres, 82 Lake Dr is far from compliant. Even though a house once stood, today's zoning rules have locked the property in a kind of bureaucratic limbo. To the untrained eye, it might seem like a teardown opportunity. But in practice, it’s more complicated. Rebuilding would likely require approvals for variances or creative redevelopment ideas—and those don’t come easy. To investors, it’s a technical challenge. To buyers with vision, it's a test of persistence. And to longtime locals, it’s a quiet landmark—a reminder of a family that once lived here, of a fire no one forgets, and of how a home can disappear while the land itself remains frozen in time. In real estate, every parcel tells a story. Some stories are about luxury. Some about opportunity. And some, like 82 Lake Dr, are about what used to be—and what might be again, if someone dares to ask the right questions.