By:Angela Marshall
The large turnout was exactly what organized opposition to the Signature Place Apartments had called for during an unofficial meeting at the American Legion Hall a week earlier. We may not be experts, sir, but we are relentless, Peter Rincones told Michael Faltischek, attorney for Chase Partners, the developer seeking permission from the Planning Board to build a 349-unit apartment complex on Banks Avenue just north of King Kullen.
The residents lashed out against both the developer and the Planning Board, saying they had a right to be heard.
This was the fourth site-plan review hearing on the Signature Place Apartments complex. Environmental review hearings had been held earlier. Twenty to 30 villagers attended the earlier meetings, at which Chase presented its case.
The Planning Board refused to make Chase start over for those who hadn-t attended the earlier meetings. The chairwoman, Mary Beth Kearns, stuck to the original schedule of taking public comment and questions for the developer, saying Faltischek-s and Chase-s experts would answer the questions at the end of the hearing. Residents complained that they didn-t know what questions to ask without hearing details of the project. Still, 16 residents spoke out against the project before Kearns said it was time to give the developer a chance to respond.
Andrew Karamouzis, a resident who had been hired by some of the other residents opposed to the apartments to represent them, said that if this development were approved, many similar projects would follow. This is only the beginning, he said.
He also criticized the developer-s lack of a cleanup plan for contamination found at the site. He called what he characterized as Faltischek-s worry about remediation later attitude unacceptable, wholly unacceptable.
During environmental testing of the site, dry-cleaning chemicals were found in the soil. If Chase is approved to build apartments, its cleanup plan will have to meet the state Department of Environmental Conservation-s most restrictive standards. The village attorney has requested an opinion from the DEC as to whether the cleanup plan should be included in the Planning Board-s decision.
Faltischek has argued that the developer shouldn-t have to go to the expense of putting together a cleanup plan until it knows whether it will be allowed to build. If Chase is not approved, the cleanup will fall to the property-s current owner, Darby Drugs.
Bus driver Kenneth Bendel, who has worked for Long Island Bus since 1987, described the traffic conditions in the area. The bus station is across the street from the proposed development. There-s one way in, one way out, he said.
Bendel said conditions worsened when Banks Avenue was somehow turned into a parking lot. It-s ridiculous, he said. The village leased a portion of Banks Avenue to King Kullen when the store was being planned in 1994.
The bus driver contradicted earlier testimony given by the owner of Darby Drugs, Michael Ashkin. Bendel said the traffic during the years the drug-distribution center operated wasn-t bad because most of the employees took the bus. At an Oct. 21 hearing, Ashkin said his business- 300-space parking lot was always filled with employees- vehicles during its 30 years of operation. There was a lot of traffic going in and out all the time, he said.
Mike, a St. James Place resident, wanted to know if his property values would decrease because of the development. He brought up the previous projects slated for development on the property, a Home Depot. He said the village put the kibosh on that, but that compared with the current plan, Home Depot would have been a blessing in disguise because it wouldn-t have affected the schools.
A North Forest Avenue resident said she became more enraged throughout the evening as she watched members of the developer-s team of experts smirking and laughing as residents expressed their concerns. They need to listen, she said.
Theresa Watkins agreed. We do not want this, she said. Someone has to listen.
Watkins asked members of the Planning Board to introduce themselves. After stating her name, member Catherine Pucciarelli said, We are charged with a mission. We have to follow the law.
At which Watkins angrily cut her off, saying she had the floor.
When Faltischek finally came to the microphone, near 11 p.m., he said he wasn-t quite sure where to begin. The 30-year resident of the village said he was a little overwhelmed by the residents- comments. Faltischek said he got involved because he wanted to bring a high-quality project to the village, and felt this apartment complex would be far superior to what is currently there or a retail enterprise. I looked long and hard at what was proposed, he said.
Residents shouted over him, saying they didn-t want a history lesson, just answers to their questions. After several attempts to speak, he asked to postpone responding to residents- questions until the next hearing because of the lateness of the hour and because he didn-t want to engage in argumentative comment.
Faltischek said that his client would hold a meeting outside the Planning Board hearings to explain the project to the public. He said Chase would answer all questions asked at the March 3 Planning Board meeting in writing and hand them out at the next meeting. Specifically, he said the developer would address one of the residents- recurring questions: How will this project benefit the community?
Even after the board members said they and the public had more questions to ask, Faltischek requested that the hearing be closed not adjourned to another date. Planning Board Chairwoman Mary Beth Kearns stared at the attorney for a second and turned to her board to ask, Do I have anybody who thinks that is a good idea?
When it became clear that no one did, she turned back to Faltischek and told him there would be another hearing, and that it would continue until each resident had had an opportunity to speak.
Faltischek objected, saying it was unproductive to go back and forth and that his client had a right to know all the questions. Have residents come up and ask the questions so I can give you the answers, he said.
The attorney then asked the Planning Board to put its questions in writing so that they could be answered at the next hearing. To which board member William Croutier shot back, I would request ... next time, Mr. Faltischek, you be prepared to answer our questions.
The Planning Board will open the next meeting by asking its questions, after which the public will be given a chance to ask more questions. When Faltischek asked how many residents still had questions to ask, hundreds of hands shot up throughout the room.
The Planning Board could not confirm a date or location for the next hearing at press time.
