By Mary Malloy
and Mike Schnitzel
Although a formal proposal was never filed by Marriott, its interest in Lynbrook was made abundantly clear by Lee Browning Sr., owner of Browning Hotel Properties LLC and Marriott's representative. Browning said that the chain was interested in the village because it is affluent and close to both the Long Island Rail Road and a major thoroughfare, Sunrise Highway. "Since the trustees chose not to endorse it, we backed out, as we said we would," Browning said.
Trustee David Penso, who was against the project from the beginning, was glad that the Marriott would not be coming to Lynbrook.
"If we're looking to increase the commercial tax base we have to have sensible development that fits the needs of the community."
Penso said he believed that the village's economic development committee, which is composed of the Board of Trustees, needed to meet with the Chamber of Commerce to determine the best alternatives to the now-quashed project.
Deputy Mayor Thomas Miccio said that after spending time talking with residents about the project, he felt that there was a feeling of unease over traffic congestion that many felt the project would cause. Miccio felt that the best short-term use for the site would be for village parking, a sentiment echoed by Legis. Francis X. Becker (R-Lynbrook).
"I don't think the hotel was something people were going to accept from the beginning," said Becker. "I think they saw it as an urbanization of Lynbrook."
According to Scarpato, the hotel organization, as well as others, considered various locations in Lynbrook on which to build. He said that the Marriott plan would have provided village residents with a $5 million parking garage that would have replaced the parking capacity lost to the project. "The village would also have seen a combined $500,000 annually in municipal and school taxes," said Scarpato. "It would have yielded $300,000 for the schools, $125,000 for the village and $75,000 towards the Town of Hempstead general tax."
The proposed site, Municipal Lot 8 in the downtown business district, is bordered by Earle Avenue to the east, the LIRR tracks to the south, Forest and Stauderman avenues to the west and St. James Place to the north. The 152-room Courtyard by Marriott would have included a breakfast-only restaurant and a three-tier parking lot with room to accommodate 175 vehicles.
"I think it was an opportunity that should have been looked at closer," said Harry Levitt, president of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce. "It could have been considered more extensively. It could have been advantageous to the village."
The proposal dominated the list of residents' concerns at more than one village board meeting in recent months.
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
