By:JOSEPH KELLARD
While a water park for kids may come to Island Park, the prospect is leaving some villagers decidedly unamused.
Residents from the Yacht Club condominiums and the surrounding neighborhood will meet with Barnum Island Properties Inc. next month to discuss the company's proposal to build a water park on Beach Street, near the Bridgeview Yacht Club, Paddy McGee's, Coyote Grill and a large parking lot, all of which are owned by the president of BIP, John Vitale.
BIP proposes to convert an existing storage warehouse into an entertainment facility and build on the surrounding property (after an auto body shop and a junk yard are demolished) a miniature golf course, a water pond with electric rubber boats, and a mini-race track with battery-powered cars. Except for miniature golf, the facility will be geared toward children 13 and younger, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
BIP's meeting with the neighbors was scheduled for a hearing before the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals Jan. 21. Both sides agreed to postpone the hearing, in which BIP will seeks the board's approval of its variance to build the facility.
"At this point we're going to sit down and talk about it next week or the week after, and see what the opposition to this proposal is," Glenn Reiner, attorney for the board of managers of the yacht club condominium complex, told the Herald. "When we meet, [BIP] is going to make a presentation to everybody within the community. We really haven't had an opportunity to discuss the proposal yet."
Joseph Kessell, property manager for ABM Management, the managing agency for the yacht club, said that the area, which already has several bars, is a hot spot that attracts many people. The neighbors said they are concerned primarily about the amusement facility's impact on traffic in an already busy area.
"As it exists right now," Kessell said, "any time during a normal or holiday weekend, the area has thousands of automobiles coming and going. At a point in time, that whole parking lot is filled and the bars are crowed, and people park all over the surrounding streets, and cars are backed up on Austin Boulevard to get in there."
Kessell said residents want to know how many more people and cars the facility will draw, what traffic patterns it will likely create, and the hours it will operate.
Arthur Nastre, the lawyer representing BIP, said that the northern end of the existing parking lot will be paved and stripped to create 114 additional parking spaces for the new facility, and 112 new spaces will be installed at the Bridgeview club (which is not part of BIP's proposal).
"My client, myself and our architects are going to go in and make a presentation to the whole neighborhood, not just to the condo people but anyone in the area who wants to attend," said Nastre. "We'll fill everybody in on exactly what the project is, and then the [zoning board] hearing will go forward on Feb. 11."
