At a Special Use Meeting on June 18, the Malverne village board voted unanimously to approve the development of a multi-family, 12-unit housing project at 61 Church St.
The vacant building that now occupies the property will be demolished and replaced by a three-story structure comprising two two-bedroom apartments, nine one-bedroom units and one studio apartment.
Peter Rossi, a Malverne resident for 30 years, owns the property. His company, Rossi Custom Homes, Inc., purchased it in 2022 with the intention of developing it. The existing structure, built over 70 years ago, was once a storefront, but is now dilapidated and has not been used in years.
“This will be an improvement for the village,” Rossi said. “It’s something that is very needed, and I’m very happy they approved it.”
Rossi appeared before the village Board of Zoning Appeals twice before the special use meeting. The Church Street lot is zoned as a mixed-use property in a business district, so while the property does not need to be rezoned, Rossi was seeking approval to deviate from seven village ordinances, and six of his requests were approved. His request to make the building taller than 36 feet was denied.
Rossi said he believed the new development will be a significant contribution to the village, offering long-term residents the chance to downsize as they age and also creating housing for younger residents who can’t yet afford homes.
The proposal is for a development similar to one just a few doors down, at 47 Church St., a two-level, 12-unit property that also offers family space in the village’s business district.
Some residents, however, say they are concerned about a lack of parking. There is no on site parking at 61 Church St., nor would any be added as part of the development.
There are several municipal parking lots nearby, and Rossi conducted two parking surveys, one lasting 45 days and the other six months, at the request of the zoning board. He found that there are an average of 28 overnight parking spots available for residents.
Rossi is required to find 19 parking spots for residents. He has said that he doesn’t think that residents parking in village lots or on local streets will cause congestion or limit residents’ parking. He has agreed to pay for 19 annual overnight parking passes for future tenants each year.
He has also agreed to another condition set by the village board: to contribute towards the reduction of the width of the sidewalk in front of the building, as part of a village project to widen Church Street and reduce congestion on the roadway. The sidewalk is 10 feet wide, and the village is discussing narrowing it to four to six feet. “The sidewalks were constructed rather wide (there),” Mayor Tim Sullivan said, “as they are in front of the businesses further down the road, to allow for pedestrian traffic.”
Sullivan explained that the section of Church Street near the development no longer serves a commercial use, and doesn’t need such wide sidewalks.
Kevin Brady, superintendent of the Department of Public Works and a resident of Church Street, spoke against the new development at the meeting. Brady said that the building would affect his quality of life and reduce the value of his property.
“I don’t think that the board actually looked into this fully — I think they made a decision without doing more research on it,” Brady told the Herald after the building was approved. He also said he was concerned the project could lead to an increase in similar developments that will put the “feeling” of the village at risk.
