Town gives green light to USA Gas

Posted

It looks like USA Gas in Malverne Park will be selling gas again after all.

At a Town of Hempstead board meeting last month, USA Gas’s property, at the intersection of Morris, Hempstead and Ocean avenues, was rezoned from Residence A to GSS (gas service station). The town board then granted Snuggle Ventures, the station’s owner, a permit to install four gas storage tanks to replace its expired, 33-year-old tanks, which were ordered sealed off by the Nassau County fire marshal two years ago.

The station, which has been in Malverne Park for over 80 years, sold gas until February 2013. Malverne Park is an unincorporated area outside the village.

Snuggle Ventures had filed to rezone the property multiple times in the past, but each time the town voted to adjourn the decision. The company had also repeatedly filed to replace its four gas tanks, indicating on its application that they had a total capacity of 22,000 gallons of gasoline. But each time the Town of Hempstead put the item on its agenda, the description read that each tank had a 22,000-gallon capacity, and thus there was a total capacity of 88,000 gallons.

In a emailed statement several months ago, Snuggle Ventures attorney Tom McKevitt wrote, “The plans submitted with the application, as well as the testimony before the Town Board, made it exceedingly clear that what was applied for was four (4) tanks totaling 22,000 gallons.”

The error was still not resolved when the town granted the company permission to replace the tanks on Nov. 12.

Snuggle Ventures has not said when the gas station would be fully functional again. In an email sent earlier this week, McKevitt wrote, “We look forward to providing an improved aesthetic appearance at the site, reopening the station, and serving the Malverne community for many years to come.”

The next step for the company is to resubmit its plans for the new tanks to the fire marshal’s office.

In the past, Malverne trustees have complained that USA Gas’s located is problematic, presenting problems for entering and exiting vehicles, and is not appropriate for commercial use. They have also noted the high traffic volume, vehicles moving at high speeds and sight-line problems for both north- and southbound traffic.

Interested in commenting on this subject? Write to us at rweitekamp@liherald.com.