By Anthony Rifilato
"Every time you turn it feels like it's a dead end," Mucciolo said, referring to the time it takes to turn onto Homan from Church, usually in the early morning and evening.
The problem on Church Street reflects a common suburban dilemma: the need for businesses to bring jobs and a tax base versus residents' concerns about safety, peace and quiet.
Mucciolo is one of several residents who say activity from the Rose Fence Co. breeds traffic and congestion problems on their streets, causing concern among some parents with children at the nearby Steele School and complaints from residents who say the problem is impinging on their quality of life.
"It's not safe during the school year," said Sandra Carman, who has lived on Homan since 1945. Carman said that she believes some employees from Rose Fence park their cars illegally on Homan for the entire day, many times parking on the sidewalk which forces residents onto the narrow street. "There is a lot more traffic and people speed. We've never had this problem before Rose Fence moved in."
Mucciolo said employees from Rose would park in front of his house to avoid the two-hour parking signs on Church. He put up a "No Parking" sign in front of his house which he said solved that particular problem, but did nothing to stave off the flow of traffic coming down his street to avoid Church and Central.
Mucciolo has lived on Homan for seven years, and said he's done everything from calling Rose Fence management and the police, to sending a letter with a neighbor in April to Town of Hempstead Supervisor Richard Guardino, whose office responded that the problem was being addressed.
Although Rose Fence isn't doing anything illegal by operating on a street for which their business is zoned, and police say they respond to specific complaints as they arise, residents feel more can be done to address the problems.
Some say Rose a boon to neighborhood
Rose management and some residents see it differently. Many local residents say that Rose Fence has been a boon to business in the area and redeveloped what was once a run-down industrial complex ridden with drug dealers and squatters.
Scott Rose, owner of Rose Fence, said he believes he's done so much for the area, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah for residents who remember what it was like to complain.
"This place had rats, it was terrible. I get thank you letters for what I did here," said Rose, who said he put a million dollars into his business and often gets thanked for turning the area around.
One local shop owner two blocks from Rose Fence said she has no problems with Rose. "Church Street has turned around since he moved in," said Wendy of Petals, Wicker, and Silk, who refused to give her last name.
Even concerned residents, although unnerved by the traffic, agreed. John Briggs, who lives on Homan, said Rose has done a lot to refurbish the area.
"The place looks great, he put those awnings up," said Briggs, referring to Rose's maroon awnings. But Briggs is also concerned about the traffic and activity, and said one day his sister had to wait 15 minutes because she couldn't get by as Rose trucks were unloading. "We're glad to have them here, but they have to change some things."
For his part, Rose contends that his business is not the problem, but that nearby Waldbaum's is the cause of most of the traffic on Church. Waldbaum trucks making deliveries have a hard time pulling into the unloading dock, which is across the street from Rose Fence, he said.
"Those guys jack to get in there, sometimes we have to help them park," said Rose. When called for a comment, Waldbaum management declined to comment and referred a reporter to corporate headquarters.
As for employee parking, Rose said he rents ample parking for his 100 employees from a pharmaceutical supply company, Central Health Care Building, across the street.
Rose's co-worker, Jimmy Jones, said drivers' road rage might be a factor also, and said he wishes drivers would slow down while workers are unloading trucks. The occasional hold-up is for the safety of drivers, he said.
"We have a lot of trucks to get, people have to work with us a little," said Jones. "We'll do our best to work with the traffic....A few times I almost got hit. There was this lady who couldn't wait with three kids in the car and drove right through with the forklift there."
Though both sides have said they are willing to work with each other, they also remain adamant that they should have some flexibility.
Mucciolo, who is still waiting for his complaint to be addressed by Guardino's office, says that he has no trouble with Rose running a business in the area, he only wants some reorganization.
Feeling like his concerns are not being heard. Mucciolo said, "Unless you live around here, nobody cares."
