By Danny Teigman
According to Passalacqua's attorney, Lisa Cairo, the plans call for the construction of a three-story, two-building, seven-unit complex at 33-35 Park Place, off Merrick Road, as well as 18 parking spaces. Each unit would have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. The average cost would be approximately $475,000, Passalacqua said.
The original plans outlined a 10-unit structure with carports, but the building was deemed by the board to be visually jarring and too big for the neighborhood. This time around, no zoning variances are being sought. "The applicant, Mr. Passalacqua, is not looking to make anyone in the community uncomfortable or unhappy with the granting of this application if it is in fact granted," Cairo said.
Although a final decision will be made by the village board, it must present Passalacqua's proposal to the Nassau County Planning Commission for its approval before making a determination, Cairo explained. The Planning Commission has already recommended that no more than five units be built on the lot. Passalacqua said he is compromising with seven. It is not known when and what the county will decide, but village officials felt it was important the public be kept informed.
Nearby residents voiced their skepticism about the project, focusing on the decrepit state of a rental building and a adjacent vacant property that Passalacqua owns on the block and an expected increase in traffic volume on Park Place and the adjacent Harriet Place. Both streets are dead-ends, yet a point of egress is planned for Harriet Place.
"Harriet Place is a nightmare of traffic and it has been for many years," said William Lageman, a business owner on that street for 45 years. "We don't need any more ."
Traffic expert Jim Graham of the Melville-based Eschbacher Vanasse Hangen Brustlin said that a "level of service" analysis done on a Wednesday last March from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. at the intersection of Park Place and Merrick Road revealed "no discernible difference or impact on the street."
Passalacqua, who has built other properties in Baldwin and Lynbrook, defended the Park Place site's upkeep. "The place was a disaster before I bought it," he said. "I've taken yards of garbage out from there. I'm down there quite often. ... I'm trying to help raise the value of Lynbrook, not lower it."
Andrew Tursi, a Park Place resident, expressed his concern that Passalacqua's sale of the property to a landlord would leave no guarantee that the units would remain condos. Rented units would promote "un-Lynbrook-like people" to move in, he said. "We don't want to see our quality of life taken down."
Naza Hummel, a South Lynbrook resident since 1953, was more supportive. "I don't mind condominiums," she said. "Rockville Centre has them. Placed in the right place, I think that they enhance a community."
Cairo tried to reassure the crowd that condo bylaws would prevent residents from subletting to guests or friends. "Mr. Passalacqua would be willing to file covenants and restrictions with the county clerk's office, restricting the form of ownership so that it would be owner-occupied," she said.
Mayor Eugene Scarpato said he was pleased to see Passalacqua working with the village, and sympathized with his need to build a seven-unit structure, and not five. "My feeling is that he's gone as far as he can go," Scarpato said. "I can see where he is, and I can appreciate the effort he's put in to make it a reasonable request to satisfy the neighbors and beautify the end of the block."
A follow-up village board meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 5.
Comments about this story? DTeigman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
