Check-cash store bounced for now East Rockaway suspends building permit for controversial business

      Since word of the new business first reached them, residents have rallied in opposition. At the village board meeting on Aug. 9, a petition with well over 700 signatures was presented, requesting that the board rethink the permit that was issued for Ballas SIS Equities Inc., a check-cashing business that has 10 locations throughout Nassau County.
      Residents, clergy and business owners complained that too few people were notified of the zoning board hearing held on May 19, and that those who did receive notification were misled. State law requires that all property owners within 200 feet of a site seeking a variance receive adequate notice to attend the hearing. Yet residents who live in an apartment building at 280/290 Atlantic Ave., less than a block away, contend they were never notified about the proposed business.
      ÒI live in the apartment building practically next door,Ó said a resident who declined to be identified. ÒDo not tell they sent out notices! I received nothing!Ó
      Residents' strongest reaction was to the business's proposed location, between the Centre Avenue Elementary School and St. RaymondÕs Parochial School, which is bustling with children at any given time of day. Concerns were raised about safety, traffic and adequate parking as well. The site is also across the street from St. RaymondÕs Roman Catholic Church.
      At the village board meeting, Trustee Ed Sieban was candid about his disappointment that such a business was slated to open in the village. In a statement, he said that a check-cashing business was not part of the vision he had for his community, and to show his disapproval he intended to picket the store with residents.
      Mayor Joseph Carrigan was leery of taking such a stand in opposition, since doing so could result in litigation and potentially exorbitant damage costs to the village. "It is a legitimate business," said Carrigan in an interview with the Herald last week. "We cannot stop a legitimate business from opening."
      A number of key issues, including whether or not there is adequate parking at the site, will be reviewed if another hearing is held. The East Rockaway Building Department originally denied the permit for the business in February based on potential parking problems. The principals, Charles Guttilla and Paul Gunder, then filed an appeal, and had their case heard on May 19. Residents did not attend, and with sufficient evidence that adequate parking was available behind the building, the permit was granted.
      Residents who did receive notice of the hearing say they were advised only that a financial institution was coming into the village. Most assumed it was a bank or a brokerage firm, as opposed to the kind of business they perceive a check-cashing store to be. A primary concern of theirs is that the business will invite transients to loiter in the village.
      Guttilla said there is no basis for such a concern. ÒWe do practically everything a bank does but take deposits and make loans,Ó he said. ÒWe had never had a negative impact on any of the communities or neighborhoods where we operate.Ó
      The board will consider requests for a rehearing on Sept. 1, at 8 p.m.
      "IÕm thrilled that the Board of Zoning Appeals has issued a 30-day stop-work order to reconsider this matter," Sieban said only hours after the order was issued, "and IÕm looking forward to the meeting on Sept. 1, where residents will be able to have their voices heard and their concerns addressed.Ó
      Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino (R-East Rockaway) applauded what he said were SiebanÕs efforts to have the matter reopened. ÒEd Sieban was a moving force in getting the Zoning Board of Appeals to listen to the residents,Ó said Santino. ÒThe great thing about East Rockaway is that we do have public officials who hear the voice of the people.Ó
      Santino added that he, too, is opposed to the check-cashing store in the village where he was born and raised and continues to live. ÒThe location is one of the busiest corners in East Rockaway -- proximate to two elementary schools and a house of worship,Ó he said. ÒAny high-volume business, which by definition a check-cashing store has to be, is not appropriate for that location. I think that the village needs to take a very close look at this application -- which was not done the first time -- particularly as it pertains to traffic and parking concerns.Ó
      Guttilla told the Herald that people are only uncomfortable with the business because they donÕt understand it.