By VICTORIA A. CARUSO
After more than two years of revised applications, zoning board hearings and court appeals, the quest to construct a Checkers drive-thru restaurant in Merrick has come to an end.
In mid-December, Mian Enterprises, Checkers' parent company, withdrew its application to build the old-fashioned hamburger joint on the southeast corner of Sunrise Highway and Hewlett Avenue.
Peter Mineo, the Mineola lawyer representing Mian, said the company pulled its application because it feared a prolonged Appeals Court battle with the Town of Hempstead. The town Board of Zoning Appeals had twice rejected Mian's application to build, saying the eatery would pose traffic hazards along Sunrise Highway. Edward McCabe, a Nassau County Supreme Court justice, recently overturned that decision. The town then appealed Judge McCabe's ruling.
Mineo said, "It would have taken anywhere from nine months to a year to be heard by the court. If we had followed through with the appeal, it would have tied up the property for at least another year. We can't, and the landlord can't, wait another year."
Mian is now seeking another site for the Checkers. Mineo said the company will likely look outside Merrick for one.
Barry Fox, co-president of the Merrick Park Home Owners Association, was elated to hear that Mian had pulled out. "This is a real victory. [Checkers] is the first chain store we have defeated in Merrick."
Cecilia Brauer, whose Hewlett Avenue home is located just south of the proposed site, said, "This is definitely a delayed Christmas present. It may be a little late, but it is welcomed as can be. What a happy new year."
Ron Coons, a Merrick resident opposed to the restaurant, added, "This is very positive news for the community. It had nothing to do with Checkers, but rather with the corner the restaurant was proposed for. I wish the owner well and hope the building will be sold to a business that offers more stability."
Plans for the building at Sunrise and Hewlett where the Checkers was proposed remained unclear at press time. A renovation project for the building began in September. Local residents had said they believed a flower shop would move into the site. In early October, however, the Town of Hempstead issued a stop-work order on the project, because the property owner had no building permit. The owner declined comment.
