By Anne Marie Allocca and Mike Schnitzel
At the ZBA meeting, Village Attorney Mike McKenna asked the board to review the final plan proposed by Valley Best, the group that hopes to build condominiums on South Cottage Street and East Jamaica Avenue, the former site of InFlight Newspapers, and offer its recommendations.
McKenna explained to the residents that the village Board of Trustees decided to seek the opinion of the ZBA. He also said the trustees would have final approval of the site plan review.
Zoning board members Jon Brandt and Gerald Frusci recused themselves from the hearing, declining to offer their comments on the project.
Attorney Dominick Minerva explained that last October, the Board of Trustees devised a new local law to allow new uses for sites such as the one on South Cottage. The board had approved the previous site plan based on local laws that applied at the time. Minerva went on to say that there were new changes in the plan, and that he would like to hear what the ZBA had to say.
The plan previously detailed 77 units, including 25 two-bedroom units with dens that could be used as extra bedrooms. The new plan calls for 54 two-bedroom units and 36 one-bedroom units.
The height of the building had to change because of inadequate water drainage facilities. The parking grade also had to be elevated. The windows originally faced the Long Island Rail Road trestle and Rizzo Construction, which affected the development¹s marketability, Minerva maintained. ³Now the windows face the courtyard,² he said. ³We¹re also reducing the price tags on the condominiums, and their size. One-bedroom units measure 900 to 1,000 square feet, and the two- bedroom units are between 1,200 and 1,300 square feet.²
There will be a concierge in the building, on duty 24 hours a day, and an underground garage with an entrance off East Jamaica Avenue. One-bedroom units will have one parking space, and there will be 1.9 parking spaces for two-bedroom units. There are 13 fewer parking spaces than previously included on the site plan due to poles in the lot that support the building.
Village Building Inspector Tom Viani said that the new site plan definitely works better, especially with the building so close to the LIRR. He said he had also discussed the new plan with architect Bob Ferrara.
³It¹s the right way to go for the village for this project,² said resident Al Green. I¹m just confused, with so many pieces missing on the site plan review.²
Resident Bill Freda took issue with the notion that McKenna is the village attorney as well as the attorney for the ZBA. He requested that there be separate attorneys for the two boards. He also complained that Valley Best paid no fee paid for the modification of the site plan, and that the plan was incomplete.
ZBA Chairman Ken Bond told the audience that the board was not making a decision, but simply a recommendation, and that the transcript of the hearing would be sent to the mayor for his perusal.
A public hearing June 19 gave residents their chance to voice their opinions about changes in the plan to the Board of Trustees. Anita Langella, who lives on South Cottage Street, said she believed that the project was targeted at people in their 50s and 60s, and that it was unreasonable to believe people would give up their cars for an apartment.
³My parents gave up on much, much nicer apartments than the one they¹re in now because they wanted to be guaranteed two parking spots,² said Langella. ³You have to be able to provide two parking spots.² She suggested that Valley Best consider building a two-level parking garage to provide the extra spots she said were necessary.
Trustee Joann Antun said that while she felt that the new parking ratio was acceptable, the community deserved an explanation as to why the ratio would not adversely affect the project.
Minerva said that the condominiums would be ³low-intensity usage² and would be occupied mostly by ³empty-nesters² and commuters. He said he expects very few families with children to move in.
Several residents who spoke at the meeting said they supported the original project, but felt that the new proposal was unacceptable because of parking and traffic concerns. Josephine O¹Connor, a nurse and mother of two who lives on South Cottage Street, said she was concerned that the decreased on-site parking at the Manor would cause ³horrendous traffic² in front of her house, and asked the board to consider rejecting the new approval.
The board is awaiting a vote on the new site plan by the Nassau County Planning Commission. If the vote takes place before the work session scheduled for July 10, there will be further discussion of the new proposal by the Board of Trustees at that meeting, according to Mayor Edward Cahill. He said that if an agreement was reached at that session, a proposal to approve the project would be offered at the next regular board meeting on July 17. If no agreement is reached, discussions would continue, Cahill said.
