By JOSEPH KELLARD
To reach this illustrious status, the Manhattan developer said he must add two stories to the building in order to include a pool and spa. Rosenberg's team of attorneys, architects and engineers brought his proposal for the new floors, amenities and parking spaces before the city zoning board on March 27. Others who attended the meeting urged board members to closely examine Rosenberg's plan before giving him a green light.
The Allegria Hotel, touted by the developer as the next Garden City Hotel, would be a “boutique”-style, 153-room luxury hotel featuring an upscale restaurant, bar and sushi bar. Since the King David property is already zoned for hotel use, no variances are needed - except for the two extra floors, which would add 24 feet to the 73-foot-tall structure.
Rosenberg, co-owner of the Manhattan-based Alrose Group, also hopes to add 19 parking spaces to the site's existing 61 underground spots. His traffic engineer acknowledged the parking problems around the beachfront property, particularly during the summer months, but proposed to use the parking structure at the Long Island Rail Road station on Park Avenue and provide hotel patrons with a shuttle bus.
“They've already conceded that they don't have enough parking, and now they want to use our public parking,” said Denis Kelly, speaking on behalf of TechRealty Development, which plans to build six townhouses at 50 W. Broadway, the property next to the King David. Kelly, a former city zoning board and City Council member, added that the building's existing underground parking has too many pillars to fit even 80 Mini Coopers there.
Zoning board member Tracy Eichler suggested that Rosenberg's traffic survey, conducted in 2005, is outdated, considering that since then, two condominium buildings, the Meridian and the White Sands, have been built nearby.
The King David - which operated as a home for senior citizens who did not need nursing homes until it closed about two years ago - had 170 rooms. Rosenberg's team emphasized that it would reduce the number of rooms while adding parking spaces.
David Titlebaum, who lives nearby, said that the King David and the proposed hotel are not comparable. “The reality is the King David was an assisted-living facility,” Titlebaum said, suggesting that traffic was negligible. He called Rosenberg's proposal “a disaster” for traffic in the area.
Rosenberg is in the process of purchasing the Garden City Hotel, and is developing a Wild By Nature supermarket and a Walgreens on North Long Beach Road in Oceanside. He bought the King David property for $21 million last August. Charles Mayeri had acquired the property from the estate of Slomo Silvian, who died in 2001, for $5.5 million in March 2005, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island.
Rosenberg wanted to buy the property next to the King David from TechRealty, possibly to build an adjoining structure, more parking and the pool. “I was also interested in developing the retail on the boardwalk,” he told the Herald. “I had a bunch of ideas for that property. But they were not serious sellers.”
TechRealty's application to build a 20-unit luxury condominium tower on the 18,000-square-foot King David property was rejected by the city's zoning board last year based on the size of the project.
Robert Marks, a Mineola real estate appraiser who represented Rosenberg, told the board the hotel is needed and is compatible with the area. “It will be no detriment and bring no diminution to the surrounding properties,” Marks said.
City Council member Mona Goodman, who lives opposite the King David on Broadway, called the structure an increasingly deteriorating “eyesore,” and welcomed the development. “It will be a tremendous asset to our neighborhood and certainly not a detriment,” Goodman said.
“I know it's ugly,” Kelly told the board, “but that doesn't mean you should rush tonight and approve [the proposal] … You should scrutinize these plans the way you would someone proposing to build a new house on the West End.”
Kelly said that Rosenberg is doing incrementally what he would be unable to do if he presented his project as a whole. “The basic rule is, if you have a non-conforming building,” he said, “and you seek to put on new floors or you seek to change something that requires a variance, then all of your non-conforming issues should come before the board.”
Angelo Corva, the architect of the Allegria, who has been involved in more than 4,000 projects from New York to California to China, told the board, “We have cut no corners in ensuring that the building is properly done.” Corva added that the parking can be accommodated, and that the “bathtub effect” in an underground parking lot in stormy weather is irrelevant with this building.
Zoning board chairman Rocco Morelli said that the board would vote on the variance at its next meeting. If Rosenberg's application is granted, the Allegria will be the first luxury hotel in the city since the mid-20th century, according to Roberta Fiore, the city's historian. The Nassau Hotel, built in 1909, was renamed the Promenade in the 1940s under new owners, and remained in business until the 1950s, when the city suffered economic hard times. “That was the most luxurious hotel, second only to the Garden City Hotel,” Fiore said.
She pointed out that since the 19th century, luxury hotels in the city were hurt during the winter months, and she believes the city's seasonality has not changed.
“That is exactly why we need the spa,” Rosenberg responded. “Plus, Long Beach has evolved into a year-round community, and you have many great restaurants there. It's not the Long Beach of 20 or 30 years ago.”
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
