Villa project approved by Planning Board

The Glen Cove Planning Board voted 4-2 during a Nov. 21 virtual meeting to approve the Livingston Development Corp.’s proposal to change the 176-unit Villa at Glen Cove from condominiums to rental units. Board members Carolyne Diligard Clark and John Maccarone voted against the measure.

The approval comes after the planning board requested several conditions and changes in the project from Daniel Livingston, president of Livingston Development Corp.: the elimination of a communal area planned for the roof of one of the development’s six buildings; a completion bond to ensure that Livingston begins work on the project within a year; a sign prohibiting right turns at the development’s exit on Craft Avenue; and the prohibition of amplified music.

Livingston also agreed to forgo the use of pile driving in the development, on Glen Cove Avenue.

“This project has been going on for as long as I’ve lived in Glen Cove,” said John DiMascio, the chairman of the planning board. “They were very receptive to the things we wanted to change and improve. There were several things that they changed, which in my opinion made the project much more controllable and much better for not only the people living there, but for the people in the surrounding area.”

Because Livingston implemented recommendations by the planning board, some of which were influenced by what members of the public had to say during hearings on the development, DiMascio voted in favor of the project.

Livingston said that construction would likely begin next spring, and be completed in two years.

“We’re certainly delighted,” he said. “We know that this project will be a jewel for Glen Cove. It will improve an area that has been blighted for generations, and it’ll provide an economic engine for Glen Cove.”

Maccarone was outspoken about his “no” vote. “This project has been bandied about for about 15 years, and I find it utterly disgusting, in an age of transparency, without even discussing the merits of the proposals and the changes, that we are voting on this at 6 p.m. on a Friday night at a meeting that was ordered by the mayor,” Maccarone said. “So for those reasons alone, I vote no.”

Mayor Tim Tenke explained at the Nov. 24 City Council meeting that under state law, boards have 62 days from the closing of a hearing to reach a decision. “Friday was the 62nd day,” Tenke said, adding that he simply pointed the law out to the planning board.

“Many, many people did not know about this vote,” said Glen Cove resident Steve Gonzalez, who lives near the site of the development. “And I’m sure there are many people now, residents who live in that area, who do not know that this vote took place.”

The project has received much scrutiny over the years, particularly from those who live near it. Concerns range from the possibility of overdevelopment to the project’s impact on home values, traffic flow and quality of life for nearby residents.

Livingston Development Corp., which had acquired most of the 4.98 acres for the project by 2007, proposed 176 condominiums for the site in 2016, but last winter it put forward a proposal for a 216-unit rental complex. In March, the City Council voted to move Livingston’s application to change the project to the planning board, and in June the developer sought to reduce the size of the project to 176 rentals.

The most recent plan for the site, put forward this summer, includes more open land, Livingston said, and roughly 600 trees, 1,800 plants and shrubs, two fountains, a gazebo and sidewalk lanterns. That recreational space would occupy .58 acres of land, with no major construction planned for that section of the site.

The six apartment buildings on the site would range from two to four floors in height.

“I’m certain once the project is completed,” Livingston said, “people in the community will be very, very pleased.”