By:Nick Buglione
A number of East Meadow residents turned out for the five-hour hearing at Hempstead Town Hall last Wednesday, just over two weeks after the same 7-Eleven representatives walked out of an East Meadow Civic Association meeting when they were met with hostile questions about their proposal.
Last Wednesday, they had nowhere to run. ³This was a hot board,² said William Bonesso, the attorney representing 7-Eleven. ³I will say that it was a more orderly meeting than we had with the East Meadow Civic Association.²
Board members seemed particularly unconvinced by the testimony of Sean Mulryan of Atlantic Traffic and Design Engineers, the firm 7-Eleven hired to study traffic congestion at East Meadow and Prospect. Conducted in October and November 2004, the firm¹s study concluded that building a 7-Eleven at 391 East Meadow Ave., where G.F. Auto Repair currently stands, would not worsen traffic.
Though Mulryan conceded that the intersection is ³heavily trafficked,² he argued, among other things, that convenience stores generally don¹t add more cars to the road. The majority of their business consists of ³pass-by² trips ' motorists who are already on the road and decide to stop in.
³My traffic expert was not really allowed to go through his presentation as one complete narrative,² Bonesso said. ³He nevertheless made the point that overall, the proposed 7-Eleven will not change the level of service of traffic at the intersection of East Meadow and Prospect.²
Board members were skeptical, however, especially in light of testimony from Robert Heilmann, the senior real estate representative of 7-Eleven¹s northeast division, who said that a 2,200-square-foot store would hopefully generate at least 1,000 sales a day. Nearly all of those customers would be driving to the store, Heilmann said, which alarmed the board.
³Based on the testimony that I¹ve been hearing and the board¹s been hearing, I¹m not sure we¹re satisfied with [their] answers,² said Gerald Wright, chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals. ³We are concerned about the community and anything that will affect the community.²
Before construction can begin, 7-Eleven needs the board¹s approval, owing to an amendment to the town code passed last year. Certain-sized businesses are now required to apply for a ³special exception² with the board when moving onto roads with only a single lane of traffic in each direction, such as East Meadow and Prospect avenues.
Many residents have vocally opposed the 7-Eleven proposal since learning of it over a year ago, citing traffic, safety and quality-of-life issues. The East Meadow Civic Association hired Mineola-based attorney Anthony Iovino and traffic consultant Norman Gerber to fight the plan before the board.
Gerber presented findings from his own study, which contradicted the results of 7-Eleven¹s traffic expert. ³He found that nothing [would compromise traffic] worse than a 7-Eleven at that corner,² said Robert Zafonte, president of the Civic Association. ³It would certainly jeopardize the safety of the community.²
Eric Becker, third assistant chief of the East Meadow Fire Department, also testified that the department is afraid that a 7-Eleven at East Meadow and Prospect avenues would hamper its response time to emergencies. ³That corner is a madhouse to begin with,² Becker said. ³We have a problem there even on off hours. I don¹t see how 7-Eleven could go in there and not increase traffic.²
There are three fire houses on East Meadow Avenue, and emergency vehicles traverse that intersection frequently, because it leads to all other areas of the community, Becker said. ³A fire doubles in size every 17 seconds, so if we¹re delayed one minute, we¹re going to fight a fire four times in size,² he said.
Gerber¹s and Becker¹s testimonies were buttressed by statements from a number of East Meadow residents at the meeting.
The Board of Zoning Appeals has reserved judgment on the 7-Eleven proposal until it receives both sides¹ arguments in writing. A decision is expected in late August.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
