By Danny Teigman
, where they voiced their opposition to a proposed car wash that would replace Abbey Tool Rental on the northeast corner of the intersection of Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue, just over the Lynbrook border.
The collective opposition comes on the heels of an April meeting of the neighboring village's zoning board, during which, due in part to the efforts of Clifford, the board postponed a vote on the matter.
Even though he initially chastised Clifford for acting alone and without the consent of the full Lynbrook Board of Trustees, Curran ultimately opposed the project, too, and defended village residents whose property in some cases is within 500 feet of the site.
According to a May 5 letter sent by Clifford to residents in the vicinity, the car wash would be a 60-foot-long, full-service operation. Motorists would access it by way of Ocean Avenue, heading west on Merrick Road. Vehicles would exit north on Ocean Avenue.
In addressing the zoning board, Curran cited a letter written by Lynbrook Police Chief Joseph Neve in which he described the site as an "overburdened and dangerous intersection." Since May of 2004, Curran said, Lynbrook police have written 280 traffic tickets in the area, and recorded 109 accidents. "[A car wash] will only serve to make an already dangerous situation even worse," he said.
Curran added that if the car wash handled a maximum of 60 vehicles per hour, as predicted by Alan M. Stein, attorney for the current property owner, Frank Martocci, an increase in primary and side-street "cut through" traffic along Lynbrook's Madison, Monroe, Charles and Hamilton streets would be significant.
"My concern is that it is an awkward location for any business that would have a significant volume of traffic in and out throughout the day," said Clifford in a phone interview last week.
Tom Mazzolla, a traffic expert called on to testify on behalf of Martocci, said that of the accidents recorded, only 18 occurred in Merrick Road's westbound right-turn lane - which is closest to the site - and that not one accident occurred along the site's driveway. "The bottom line is that this site is not contributing to accidents, nor would a car wash," Mazzolla said.
Stein also asked Jed Nelson, a real estate appraiser, to speak on behalf of the property owner. "In my professional opinion, this use is a less intense use than a deli or a cafe, a coffee shop or a restaurant," Nelson said. "A car wash, in my opinion, works very well."
But Madison Street resident Lawrence Swing, along with seven other residents, opposed the project. "I didn't bring no experts with me," Swing said after waiting more than three hours to take the microphone. "With the increase of traffic, cars would be cutting down my block. God forbid my 4-year-old gets hit by a car."
"It's a horrendous intersection," added Pat Rupprecht, a Monroe Street resident. "People don't know how to merge."
After hearing extensive testimony, the board delayed the final vote until the next zoning board meeting, scheduled for Aug. 8, in order to examine more data on the site's potential environmental hazards, which will be sent by Stein.
Clifford said, however, that he was undeterred by the delay. "I was grateful that Rockville Centre granted us a continuance," he said. "I thought it was very professional of their board and [I was] pleased that eight residents of the area came down to express their concerns about the possible safety impacts to Lynbrook."
Comments about this story? DTeigman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
