Sonic plans are on hold

Will the first Nassau County Sonic reside in East Meadow Plaza? The answer is still unknown.

The Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals voted, 5-0, to deny all variance applications on March 7 that were submitted by Attorney William Cohn on behalf of Sonic franchise owner Spencer Hart.

According to Board of Appeals Secretary Richard Regina, Hart can now choose to appeal to the State Supreme Court, modify the variances and start again with a new public hearing or move on.

“We’d like to be in East Meadow, but this is obviously a setback,” Hart told the Herald last week. “We’re still evaluating the situation.”

According to reports submitted by the Board of Appeals, lack of parking strongly influenced the decision to deny the variance applications.

The report states that the required parking spaces would increase from 1,239 to 1,256. However, the parking lot currently only has 729 spaces, which would be reduced to 647 if Sonic was built.

The plaza has a 510 parking space deficiency, which would increase to a 609 parking space deficiency, a 52 percent shortage.

The current parking space shortage was approved because clubs Aura and Zachary’s only open at night after nearby businesses have closed for the day.

Sonic proposed to close at midnight during the week and 2 a.m. on the weekend, which would cause competition in the parking lot that is usually at full capacity by 10 p.m., according to the Board of Appeals report.

While parking remains an issue, a number of nearby businesses would still like to see Sonic come to the plaza.

“It’s going to hurt me in the beginning, but it’ll probably be good in the long run,” said Solomon, owner of Pita Lovers. He also thinks Sonic will help draw tenants to empty store fronts, including the former Pearl Paint location that has been vacant for years. “It doesn’t look good to East Meadow to have a huge open storefront,” he added.

“I think at first [Sonic] will generate a lot of traffic,” said a manager in the plaza, who asked to remain anonymous. “But, like anything else, it’ll level out.” He also thinks Sonic would create needed jobs for East Meadow High School students.

Russell Cohen, of Port Washington, who owns The UPS Store, also welcomes increased traffic. “More business is always good,” he said.

The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce also believes Sonic would be a positive addition to the community. “It’s disappointing that the application was turned down,” said spokesperson Ted Rosenthal, “but the location has a lot of issues.” He added that chamber members are concerned that the landlord will not address safety violations in the plaza if Hart does not pursue additional variance approval.

In addition to parking concerns, the Board of Appeals also stated that Sonic would create “unusual level of interest,” which would cause long lines to back up onto Hempstead Turnpike, particularly in the eastbound lanes.

Sonic is a nationwide chain of fast-food restaurants that feature burgers, hot dogs, chicken and milkshakes. Food is commonly delivered to parked cars by servers wearing roller skates.