By:Carrie James
Regardless of any concessions corporate officials might be willing to make, residents near the intersection of East Meadow Avenue and Front Street don't want to see a Taco Bell go up.
They made that message loud and clear during a recent Council of East Meadow Community Organization (CEMCO) meeting held at the East Meadow Public Library. CEMCO planned the meeting to let residents hear plans for a proposed Taco Bell that would go up next to the Getty Gas Station on Front Street.
"We want to inform the area residents about a proposal of a Taco Bell," said Richard Bivone, vice president of CEMCO. "We as an organization found out from a resident that an application was pending before the [Town of Hempstead] Board of Appeals. We asked them to adjourn the application so we could ask some questions and because we had some concerns."
Residents were upset about the project from the onset because of the lack of notification that the proposal was going before the Board of Appeals. Developers are required by law to notify owners within a 100-foot radius of the site, Bivone said, but an error in the drawing of the map left a handful of those residents initially in the dark.
Bonesso acknowledged the mistake over notification and said the land surveyor produced the radius map, including those homeowners initially excluded. Bonesso added that his presence at the CEMCO meeting gave surrounding residents the opportunity to speak their minds, regardless of their location to the proposed site.
"We like to meet with neighbors, it puts a face on the application and gives residents a chance to voice their concerns," he said. "The other reason is to make the application more acceptable to them. One way or another, there could be a Taco Bell there. If there is going to be one, what would you like to see happen, to make it more acceptable."
The proposal, thus far, asks for a new Taco Bell/ Pizza Hut Express with a drive thru to be built in the parking lot of Meadow Plaza Shopping Center. The restaurant will seat approximately 74 people and will be about 2,800 square feet. In addition, the shopping center will also receive facade renovations, so the whole site is more aesthetically pleasing, Taco Bell officials said.
The existing Taco Bell restaurant, located just a few blocks south on Front Street, would be closed and the building would go out for lease again.
Taco Bell representatives must receive approval from the Board of Appeals for some variances, including a reduction on the number of parking spaces required on site, sign variance and allowing a double drive-thru window (one lane with two windows - one to pay and the other for order pick up). The proposed site is in a commercial zone. "This proposal moves the Taco Bell away from a more residential area to a commercial center," said William Bonesso, attorney for Taco Bell. "And, to be honest, will draw more business [in the new location]."
After a brief presentation, residents expressed their concerns, starting with traffic. Community members said the Taco Bell would add to traffic congestion along Front Street and East Meadow Avenue.
"You're going to have a lot of traffic coming into a already congested area," said Cathy Rhodes, a nearby resident.
She, and others, worried that a Taco Bell at that location would not only draw in more vehicles to the intersection, but could potentially impede the East Meadow Fire Department, located across the street from the proposed site, from operating efficiently.
Bonesso said a traffic analysis showed that the impact would be minimal.
"We believe that the traffic analysis will show that there is enough parking [at the shopping center] and the traffic flow will only have a negligible affect," he said. "Cars will not have direct access to either street from the Taco Bell. There will be no new curb cuts, which will keep [traffic] under control."
Rhodes also pointed out that all the cars waiting at the fast food restaurant could add to the pollution in the area because of exhaust fumes.
Residents also showed concern over hours of operation, saying the late hours bring in a certain element of people they don't want in their neighborhood. Also, residents worried about the smell coming from the location and the drive thru.
"This community is close knit and we stand together on this, and we're opposed to its approval," Bivone said. "[Tacp Bell] should stay [in their current location] and renovate ... because it's a viable business where it is."
Bonesso said renovating the current location is impractical because the site is too small to add a drive thru window or some of the other things they want to make the restaurant more serviceable to diners.
Residents were adamant in their refusal to accept the new Taco Bell. "We believe the proposal should be denied," Bivone said.
The proposal will go before the Town of Hempstead's Board of Appeals on Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. in the Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion, at One Washington St. in Hempstead.
Both Bivone and Bonesso said they believe their side has a chance of winning their case. Bivone thinks the variance for parking, which would allow for a deficiency of more than 50 spaces, is too much for the Board to approve. Bonesso said the parking analysis would show the proposal is viable and would benefit the shopping center and surrounding business community.
"We believe it's mutually beneficial to both the shopping center and to Taco Bell," Bonesso said. "It will put more businesses in the vacant spaces, and those customers going to the shopping center will come to Taco Bell."
