Village puts off vote on restaurant

Elcid Melconian left a Malverne village board hearing in good spirits last week. The board held off on deciding whether to grant Melconian’s application for a special exception that would allow him to rent part of his Hempstead Avenue building to restaurateurs.

“At least it wasn’t denial,” Melconian, owner of Tri Color Imaging, told the Herald after the Nov. 17 hearing. “I felt that we pretty much almost got an approval based on some conditions, and we just have to find out what those conditions are, what they’re looking for us to do.”

The board has roughly two months to consider Melconian’s proposal to bring a 114-seat restaurant into his building and fill its 10,000-square-foot basement with office space. While use of the building itself is not of much concern, the number of parking spaces it requires is: According to Malverne building codes, the restaurant would require 57 spaces, and the office space, 42 spots.

Because of that, the proposal met opposition from a number of area merchants who fear that the new businesses would exacerbate Malverne’s already problematic parking situation and eventually drive away their customers. Village trustees heard from some of those merchants at the hearing, but they also heard from residents who expressed support for the proposal and from Melconian’s lawyer, Vincent Muscarella, and his traffic expert, who said there is sufficient parking for additional cars there.

“This is not a case where the board is being asked [for approval] to construct a new building,” Muscarella told trustees. “The building is here, it’s entitled to be used. This use may require a bit more parking … but I believe that the applicant has met his burden for the board to grant a special exception.”

Traffic expert Bruce Mawhirter told the board that the results of each of the six studies he conducted in the area, two in mid-September and four in the first week of November, indicated that there are enough available spaces to support the proposal. The study surveyed municipal parking lots and commercial streets — not private lots or residential streets. Mawhirter’s studies also showed that peak parking hours during the week and on Saturdays are between noon and 5:15 p.m. — hours that do not coincide with the peak hours of the proposed restaurant, which would also be a piano bar and lounge targeting a late-evening crowd.

While time was a big factor in the study, season was not, according to Ann and Henry Stampfel, operators of the Malverne Cinema, who said that their business is currently in a slump, which may account for some of the available parking in the area. When things pick up in the coming weeks and at other points during the year, the parking situation will look entirely different, they said. “There are times when we’re very slow,” Henry Stampfel said, “and times when we’re over the top.”

What’s more important, he added, is the overall effect the new businesses could have on Malverne’s downtown. “I know his attorney said, ‘We’re not rebuilding a building,’” Stampfel said of Muscarella, “but you are rebuilding a concept, and you’re changing the landscape entirely. I’m concerned for everybody involved.”

That includes the restaurateurs themselves, Stampfel added. “They’re going to come in, it’s going to be wonderful, they’re going to spend a lot of their money, they’re going to open their restaurant, they’re going to build a clientele, and then the theater is going to get busy — and sometimes it gets busy for 10 weeks at a time — and then their clientele … is going to say, ‘Ah, I’m not going to go in there,’ and then they’re going to be complaining like the rest of us that there’s no parking.”

Elizabeth Tully, a 30-year-old village resident who supports Melconian’s proposal, said she doesn’t believe parking is as awful as it’s been made to seem. “I understand the struggles with parking, [but] I’ve never found it to be a problem,” Tully said. “I’m very fine with walking a few spaces away to reach my destination.”

She expressed a desire to see more variety in eateries in the community. “Being in the town and being young, I want to be able to have family here, be able to stay here,” Tully said. “I don’t want to have to constantly go into other towns to seek entertainment or … food. And to have an additional option for a restaurant, especially one that sounds so intriguing to be a tapas and a piano bar … I think it would be a great opportunity.”

MaryAnn Hanson, another supporter and a lifelong Malvernite, asked the trustees to examine all sides of the argument. “I know the merchants are having a problem with the parking, however, we have to take into consideration what the people in the town want,” said Hanson, adding that she knows a number of people who would like to see more restaurants in the village, which currently has just two. “Everyone was upset when the Cork & Board left. At least [then] you had three places to go to.”

Trustees said they were thoroughly examining the proposal and surveying residents and merchants throughout the village for feedback and input. Deputy Mayor Joe Hennessy also said that the board is working proactively to address the parking problems in Malverne, though he would not elaborate on what actions it is taking.

When the trustees complete their review, they will hold a public session — although the public will not be permitted to comment — and make their determination. Trustee Michael Bailey said he expects the board to reach a decision earlier than the mandated 60-day limit.

“I’m hoping that everything will go well,” Melconian said. “Once we work out the little details, I’m sure we will have approval. … We’re heading in the right direction.”