By Nicole Falco
With the purchase of the K of C, B & B Coverage Ltd., a property and casualty insurance company with a financial services division, hopes to be able to combine its Valley Stream and Lynbrook offices and allow for future growth.
B & B has been doing business in Valley Stream since 1978 and speaking on behalf of B & B, one of the company's three principal partners, Ronald Brunell, said he hopes the proposed state-of-the-art office building will be a "mainstay" on the avenue.
"We are hoping that the building will lend itself to the community and enhance the community," Brunell said. "It should also help the vendors on Rockaway Avenue."
By combining its two offices, at least 50 B & B employees would work in the renovated building. According to Brunell, the majority of those employees live locally or on the South Shore, including Nina Botta, a principal partner, and a lifelong resident of Valley Stream.
Renovations call for an extension of the existing second floor, which is currently only about one third the size of the first floor, and a 2 1/2-story glass atrium at the corner of East Lincoln Avenue and Rockaway Avenue.
"It will be the hallmark of Rockaway Avenue," according to Dominick Minerva of Minerva & D'Agostino, attorney for B & B.
At its Sept. 17 decision meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved the company's request for a variance to carry out its proposed renovations.
In making their decision, board members cited the need to revitalize Rockaway Avenue as the deciding factor.
"It is hard to turn [the proposal] down because the building, I think, will do a tremendous amount for Rockaway Avenue. It could be the beginning of a Renaissance, " said George Malekian, Zoning Board member. "When you add the whole thing up I think we have to approve this. To deny it would just send us back on that avenue. Rockaway Avenue needs help."
Another board member, Marvin Ronik added, "This could be the anchor we need for others to come in."
As with many businesses that appear before the Zoning Board for variances for extensions, parking is a concern. B & B has worked out a deal with the Village of Valley Stream to purchase the adjacent, 22-spot, free parking lot No. 11 on Fairview Avenue between Rockaway and Grove Street. B & B has negotiated to purchase the lot for $275,000, payable over 15 years.
"The village's interest was in...bringing people to the avenue who will shop and eat. We have to look at the future of Rockaway Avenue. We can't be shortsighted; we have to look ahead," said Village Clerk Vincent Ang.
According to Zoning Board member Tom Hauck, turning down B & B's proposal would not solve the village's parking woes.
"To turn this down...we might have a lot of left-over parking but if we turn this down, we won't have anybody to use it," Hauck said.
The village is addressing parking concerns on Rockaway Avenue near Sunrise Highway. A 240-space parking lot is planned to be installed near the Concorde Diner under the Long Island Railroad. Though the majority of those spots would be available for commuters, the availability of spaces would free up spots in other lots around the avenue, Ang said.
The Zoning Board approved the variance request with a condition. Parking lot No. 11 must remain a parking lot. B & B can build an extension over the lot in the future, but any feasible extension would require an approval from the zoning board.
According to Brunell, with the board's approval, the purchase of the K of C building should be complete within a month and the renovations could begin in mid-November. The insurance company has a prospective move-in date of July 2003.
The deal solves B & B's almost three-year search for suitable office space in the area and the K of C's approximate five-year wait for a buyer. Others had been interested in the building, including the Bethlehem Assembly of God Church.
The property will generate more tax revenue once renovations are complete and the parking lot will be added to the village's tax roll, Ang said. As a village-owned property, the lot did not generate revenue for the village.
A K of C representative could not be reached for comment, but according to Mayor Ed Cahill, who is a K of C member, factors contributing to the need to sell the hall included a declining membership and the high cost of renovations that are needed for the hall. The Father Carroll K of C, one of two in Valley Stream, will keep its charter and will hold its regular meetings in the American Legion Hall on Roosevelt Avenue until it can find a new home.
The K of C has owned the building, which was built in 1941, since 1964.
