Lynbrook says no to hotel parking lot

This house, at 417 Ocean Ave. in Lynbrook, is owned by hotel owner Thomas Morash. His request to tear it down, along with two other nearby properties that he owns, to make way for a parking lot, was denied by village officials.

Nick Ciccone/Herald

This vacant house on Merton Avenue, owned by Thomas Morash, is one of structures he wants to raze to make way for a parking lot for the Holiday Inn Express.

Herald file photo

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Residents of Merton Avenue breathed a little easier after a proposal to change the zoning for three properties owned by Thomas Morash, who also owns both the Holiday Inn Express and the Rockville Centre Inn on Ocean Avenue, was once again denied by the Lynbrook village board on Nov. 2. A change in zoning from residential to commercial would have been the first step toward allowing the Rockville Centre Inn to build additional parking.

Morash has been pursuing the zoning change since 2012, to the frustration of many neighboring residents, who have voiced their opposition to the hotel’s proposal at village board meetings.

The properties are on the border of Lynbrook and Rockville Centre, and the proposed lot would have provided additional parking for the Holiday Inn Express on the west side of Ocean Avenue.

Paul Tubin, who lives on Ocean Avenue, said that community members were concerned when they learned that the board would consider a new application from Morash at this month’s meeting. “Fortunately, the board was just as supportive as they were last time,” he said.

According to Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick, any changes in the application qualify it to be re-evaluated by the board. “Modifications or changes in plan, just like changes in a legal motion, should be considered,” he said.

Morash owns three residential properties surrounding the hotel: 417 Ocean Ave., 3 Merton Ave. and 9 Merton Ave.

Despite changes in the hotel’s application over the years, Village Attorney Peter Ledwith said that it always involved changing the zoning of all three homes. The board previously recommended demolishing just one of them, which Morash refused to do, Ledwith said.

According to New York state’s Environmental Quality Review Act, state and local government agencies must consider the environmental impact of development on the surrounding neighborhood. “A parking lot right smack in the middle of the neighborhood would change the character of the neighborhood,” Ledwith said. “It was a unanimous vote.”

Still, the future of the properties remains uncertain. “They could submit another plan,” Hendrick said. “I don’t think that would be forthcoming, since they were denied twice.”

“I’d rather live next to a vacant lot than live next to a parking lot,” said Tubin.

Thomas Morash could not be reached for comment, and Michael Morash, the general manager of the Holiday Inn Express, declined to comment.

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