The former Sunoco property was previously the subject of local controversy. There was a spill of gasoline and methyl tert-butyl ether, or MTBE, at the site on Dec. 30, 2000, according the state Department of Environmental Conservation. In August 2002, the Herald reported that spill cleanup work had not yet begun and cited Merrick School District officials’ concerns about the possibility of contamination at Levy-Lakeside or the neighboring Camman’s Pond. The DEC website shows that the agency closed its case on the spill in June 2007. A document from a lawsuit that involved Merrick Gulf Service Station Inc., Sun Oil Co. Inc., Exxon Mobile Corporation, the Merrick School District and the state shows that the state spent at least $315,788 to remediate the spill.

Joe Baker, president of the South Merrick Community Civic Association, first informed the Herald Life that a 7-Eleven was rumored to be on its way to 150 Merrick Road. Baker said that a member of the association told him that several Merrick parents had passed along the report and expressed their opposition in a private Facebook group, which counts hundreds of Merrick parents as members. Baker added that parents at the association’s April 29 meeting raised concerns about the safety of children who might cross Merrick Road from Levy-Lakeside to visit a convenience store, and some questioned whether a store that sells alcohol and tobacco would be appropriate across the street from an elementary school.

Dave Denenberg, a county legislator from Merrick, said that in recent weeks his office has received calls from local residents expressing concern about a 7-Eleven opening. Javed Daruvala, proprietor of the 7-Eleven at 203 Sunrise Highway, just a half-mile northwest on Babylon Turnpike, said that the 7-Eleven Corporation is advertising the property at 150 Merrick Road as available for sale to a franchisee, and is asking $460,000.

The Nassau County Department of Assessment this year valued the property at $598,700.