By Andrew Hackmack
The village's downtown, which stretches along Rockaway Avenue from Sunrise Highway to Merrick Road, has been plagued by vacancies over the past several years. Valley Stream officials have approved two projects which they hope will lift the avenue, and create a need for more services that will fill these empty storefronts.
Hawthorne Court, a 90-unit condo development on Cottage Avenue, is under construction and just two blocks from the downtown business district. Sun Valley Condominiums, which still awaits final approvals for its building plans, is anticipated for the corner of Rockaway and Brooklyn Avenues, just south of Sunrise Highway. It would feature 64 apartments as well as four stores on the ground floor.
In order to bring these two projects to the village, the board of trustees bypassed the zoning board and approved a "floating" zone, which allows construction of high-density housing in a commercial area. Village officials say that a planned revitalization project could include more of these types of developments, especially those with stores on the ground floor and housing above. "There are people who like that kind of living and Rockaway Avenue is the perfect location," Village Clerk Vinny Ang said.
Mayor Ed Cahill said that condemnation of existing buildings on Rockaway Avenue is not out of the question, but a master plan outlining suggestions is still several months away.
Through a $65,000 state grant, the village has hired Frederick P. Clark Associates as its consulting firm for the downtown project. Cahill said that the firm will send out a survey to local business owners about what they would like to see downtown. The mayor said he is hoping to have these results around Labor Day.
There is no timetable for the firm's master plan. "We're moving a little slower than I thought but we'll take it one step at a time," Cahill said.
Parking
At a presentation at the June 24 Chamber of Commerce meeting, Cahill discussed the downtown revitalization project with local business owners. Angela Ogurick, a chamber board member, said that a few years ago she visited all the businesses on Rockaway Avenue in an attempt to increase the chamber's membership. She noted that several store owners told her their concerns about the parking in the downtown area.
Ang said that one issue is that store owners are parking on Rockaway Avenue, some directly in front of their businesses. He noted that in the course of a regular business day, one on-street parking spot can yield 16 customers. "Now you put a merchant in it and you shut out that spot," he said.
Within the past two years, the village completed construction of a new parking lot on Rockaway Avenue, just north of the railroad tracks, which holds more than 300 cars. The lot includes both permit parking spots, as well as 12-hour metered spots.
However, Ang noted, the lot is very underutilized. "You may have 50 or 60 cars it in," he said. "That's another 200 spots that are available. Rockaway Avenue is six blocks long -- and that's the furthest possible distance [to walk]."
The village also has municipal lots just off Rockaway Avenue on East Lincoln, West Fairview and West Jamaica avenues. Ang said all merchants would be doing themselves and other store owners a favor by leaving the metered spots on Rockaway Avenue available for customers only.
Taxes
Another concern that was raised at the June 24 Chamber meeting was high property taxes, which leads to high rent prices. A building a 112 Rockaway Avenue, which includes about 2,700 feet of retail space and 2,300 square feet of apartments, has a school tax bill of $38,743, mynassauproperty.com. A smaller location, 128 Rockaway Avenue with 600 square feet each of retail and apartment space, has an $8,868 school tax bill.
Dr. Edward Fale, superintendent of District 24 which encompasses all of the downtown business district, said the county determines what percentage of school taxes that businesses pay. All the school district does is determine the total amount to be collected through taxes, or the tax levy. "I have no idea how they develop the formula," he said. "It's not something we have any input into."
Properties in Nassau County are divided into four classes. In District 24, Class 1 -- single family homes -- pay about 53 percent of the tax levy, with Class 4 -- commercial -- picking up 38 percent. "We don't determine who pays what share," Assistant Superintendent Dan Onorato said.
Class 2 is other residential units such as apartments and condos, and Class 3 is utilities.
Randy Yunker, a spokesman for the county assessor's office, said that percentages each class pays is based on the total valuation of that class in a particular school district. However, he said, there is a state law that caps the shift in the residential portion to a 1 percent increase each year. "The intent was to protect homeowners from huge shifts in the tax burden," he said.
Because the total valuation of residential properties has gone up at a higher rate than commercial properties in recent years, Yunker noted that many people feel this puts a heavier burden on businesses.
Village codes
Rich Iavarone, owner of Blue Diamond Limousines on Rockaway Avenue, said the process for opening a new business in the village can be very difficult. From the time he signed his lease, it took about four months to get all necessary approvals before he could open his business.
"For small businesses, sometimes it's nearly impossible to open a business in today's economy," he said, stressing that now more than ever the village needs to be accommodating to prospective merchants.
Iavarone said he understands why the rules are in place, but it is difficult to get through the process. He said the village could provide more guidance as to the necessary steps to take to open a business.
Cahill agreed that the process is a little slow, and said these requirements will likely be revised to make Valley Stream more business friendly as part of the overall downtown revitalization plan. He said about three years ago, a business committee that he established made some recommendations on ways to speed up the process for new businesses. For example, the building department will now issue a partial certificate of occupancy if something in the building not related to health and safety is incomplete.
Ang noted that any time a storefront changes from one business to another -- for example a restaurant to an office -- the new business owner must go through the zoning board for a change of use approval. "That's a process and that's an expense," he said.
T.J. Anand, owner of Diya Fusion restaurant, said that even changing an awning requires a trip to the zoning board. An application must be filed, then there is a hearing and discussion on if the color is suitable.
Another slowdown, Ang said, is required parking. Any business must have available a certain number of parking spaces, otherwise a variance is required. In every situation downtown, that variance is necessary because stores on Rockaway Avenue do not have private lots -- they share on-street and municipal parking. A release from this requirement for businesses on Rockaway Avenue will almost certainly be part of the downtown plan, Ang explained.
Anand said that requirements need to be loosened if village officials expect more merchants to come downtown. "There's so many vacancies," he said. "I think the village should be welcoming to businesses yet they make it so difficult for businesses to operate there."
