By Andrew Hackmack
The developer, Dr. Leonard Bleicher of Hewlett Harbor, wants to build 42 apartments instead of the 35 condos initially approved by the village Board of Zoning Appeals. Bleicher is also seeking to raise the height of the building by four feet. The zoning board will make its decision at a meeting next Tuesday.
Residents who were outraged by the approval of the project in 2005 - which required numerous variances - are speaking out once again about the developer's newest plan. Dominick Minerva Sr., Bleicher's attorney, said the change was necessitated by the economy. The downturn in the housing market, Minerva explained, makes rented apartments more desirable than condos. He noted that if the change is accepted, the building will be designed so that the units could be converted into condos in the future.
The building was initially approved for 33 two-bedroom condos and two one-bedroom units. The developer is seeking instead to have 20 two-bedroom apartments and 22 one-bedroom units. Minerva said the modification will not change the size of the building. "It's exactly the same as it was approved, except the interior is going to be changed," he said.
The building will be just four feet from the edge of the sidewalk, despite the fact that village code requires a minimum setback of 20 feet. This variance was granted by the BZA in 2005, but residents remain upset that a building they describe as out of character with the neighborhood will be built there.
"It should not be built at all," said Alan Schaechter, who lives directly across from two mostly vacant strip malls on Gibson Boulevard that will be demolished to make way for the building. "It's going to be too big for the property. The variances never should have been granted in 2005, but they were."
Mike McKenna, attorney for the BZA, said variances have a purpose. "The reason you have a zoning board is to take an individual application and weigh the benefits to the community," he said. "It's a balancing act."
A second change the developer is seeking is the additional four feet of height. The plans call for three floors of housing above one floor of parking. Initially, the parking was to be four feet below street level, but a further review of the site revealed that the water table is too high. Now, Minerva said, the developer wants to have the parking at street level.
Schaechter said that he and other residents raised this issue four years ago. "They obviously didn't hear us or believe us," he said. "Now that's the excuse they're giving for four stories."
Residents say they remain concerned that there will not be enough parking in the building, and cars will spill over onto local streets. Minerva said that with transit-oriented developments like this one - the property is right behind the Gibson train station - generally only one space per unit is needed. The plans call for 77 parking spots.
Judith Horowitz, a resident of the area for 55 years who lives at the corner of Gibson and Munro boulevards, said she doesn't buy this argument. "Now, just because you live in an apartment house and you live near the railroad doesn't mean you're not going to have a car?" she said.
While residents were hardly thrilled with the project's original plan, Horowitz said, they are even more concerned about the possible switch from condos to apartments. "If the man doesn't rent the apartments, what is he going to do?" she asked. "Is he going to go to Section 8 [housing]?"
Minerva said that the building would remain a high-end complex, similar to what was approved four years ago, with 24-hour concierge service, a gym and meeting room.
Valley Stream resident Bill Freda, a former planning board member, said that there are density regulations that have generally served the village well. For apartments and condos, he said, 1,500 square feet of land is needed per unit - which would mean that 23 units would be allowed on the site. "And the developer wants 42?" Freda said. "That's not a variance request, that's a request for a gift. It's so excessive as to be ludicrous. The BZA cannot grant gifts to applicants."
Schaechter said that he and his neighbors would not have a problem with a condo building that met the village's building requirements. "It's just sad that they feel a need to build something outside of code," he said.
Steve O'Neill, who lives on Gibson Boulevard, near the site, said he would like to see the neighborhood improved, but not this way. "It's not that we love having boarded-up stores across the street and want to keep the abandoned-town look," O'Neill said. "We pay a lot in taxes and would like nothing better than to have a thriving small-town center. The reason we didn't like the project is that it doesn't fit the town."
Schaechter said he is also upset that the village provided such late notification - just before the July Fourth weekend - about the public hearing on the proposed changes, which was held July 7. "We weren't given the opportunity to have an attorney or experts of our own," he said. "I feel they should have given us more time."
Despite strong community opposition to the project, Schaechter said he expects the changes to be approved. "It wouldn't surprise me if they passed it, because they passed it in 2005," he said. "It would just be a sham for them to approve it."
Ken Bond, chairman of the BZA, said the board is in the process of reviewing all the information. "I can't say at this point how the board is going to vote," Bond said. "There are some differences, and we need to look at those."
Minerva said there are still a few retail tenants remaining on the site, but he expects those stores to be out within a few months. He said that one of the reason the project has been delayed has been the difficulty in getting tenants out, and added that some buyout offers were refused.
He said he does not know when construction will begin, but if the zoning board approves the change, the developer wants to start soon. "It's something that's going to go forward as quickly as possible," Minerva said, "because the economy is in favor of apartment rentals at this time, and you don't want to lose that opportunity."
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
