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Overcast Day care center comes before Valley Stream zoning board
Seeks to rent out part of vacant Blessed Sacrament School
Church officials will soon know whether plans will be approved or denied for a day care center at Blessed Sacrament School, which closed in June due to low enrollment.
Owners of Precious Spirit Child Care, a New Hyde Park day care facility, appeared before Valley Stream’s Board of Zoning Appeals to discuss their plans for the vacant school on Sept. 6. The Rose Avenue property is located in an R-1, or residential zone, requiring property owners to seek a BZA variance for changes in a building’s use. The church’s property, which extends to North Central Avenue, is very close to a C-1, or commercial zone, said Thomas Curro, an architect in Bronxville hired by the company.
Their plan is to use four first-floor classrooms for children 12 months to 12 years old, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., said day care co-owner Debbie Nicosia.
Moving into the property would require a second exit, meaning a first floor classroom window facing Rose Avenue would be replaced with a door, to comply with state regulations. Curro noted that traffic around the building would likely decrease with a day care center, as opposed to a nursery through grade 8 school.
Nicosia had previously owned Precious Kid Cargo Childcare Center on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream until five years ago. She went through the BZA process before moving into that facility, which closed in 2006 after 12 years, she said. Both she and her business partner, Robin Cohen, found out the church property was available.
They said they believe their center would be a great addition to the community. “We don’t think there will be any problems because there was already children in the building,” Nicosia said. “All we want to do is provide the same service to children a little younger.”
The Rev. Peter Dugandzic, pastor at Blessed Sacrament, also said he believes it would be great. “I thought it was a wonderful thing for the community when they approached us to put a day care in,” he said.
If plans are approved, the day care would be a separate entity, though on the church’s property, Dugandzic added.
BZA board member Salvatore Pizzolo asked how the proposal would affect taxes. Dugandzic explained that Precious Spirit is a non-profit agency, which are typically exempt from income and property taxes.
Lisa Rutkoske, assistant superintendent for business in school District 30, attended the hearing. She wanted to see the reaction to this case as a gauge for what could happen when potential tenants go before the board to lease the Washington Avenue School building, which also closed in June.
Right now, an application has not been submitted to the BZA, and the District 30 Board of Education is currently working with legal counsel, she said. Though potential tenants have expressed interest in putting a day care facility there, the plan is to await the decision in the Blessed Sacrament case, which is scheduled for next Tuesday, before proceeding.
