Lynbrook gun range draws criticism

A proposal for a gun range and spa in Lynbrook, near the border with Valley Stream, provoked an outcry last month when a public hearing in Lynbrook was rescheduled at the last minute. The hearing was rescheduled for May 2, and some in Valley Stream say they hope the idea gets scrapped.

“I still stand firm with my belief that it shouldn’t be in the area,” said District 24 Trustee John Maier, who is a retired NYPD detective. He heard of the proposal from a neighbor in Valley Stream and decided to learn more about it. “If you were talking about putting it down in Oil City down in Oceanside in a commercial area, that’s one thing. You have a lot of kids walking around this place, like I said, [with] backyards against it.”

Maier said he was concerned that patrons of the range would park in front of people’s homes and be transporting their firearms. “I’d like a range, but like I said, not there,” he said.

Mark Onorato, principal of the William L. Buck School, attended the Lynbrook meeting with Maier and nine District 24 parents to learn about the proposal. Many residents of Lynbrook’s Yorkshire neighborhood have children in District 24 schools in Valley Stream.

The Sport Spa is a proposed replacement for Cutler’s Lighting, at 817 Sunrise Highway. The facility would house a gun and archery range, a retail sporting goods and gun store, a live-action shooting simulator, training classrooms and a hair and nail salon.

Pamela Newman is the proposed business’s proprietor. She flew in experts from all over the country to answer the public’s questions at a meeting that took place at the same time as Lynbrook’s village board meeting on March 21, about a half mile east of Village Hall. Mike Stillwell, who works for a firearms technology company called Action Target, told the audience that the shooting range would be in the basement and the facility would be soundproof. Kristopher Williams, a ventilation systems engineer, explained the mechanics of an air-filtration system that would guard against any environmental hazards, such as lead contamination.