By ALEX COSTELLO
At its December meeting, the group discussed proposing a new law — and eventually presenting it to the village — that would require businesses to keep their windows unblocked.
While the civic association has no power to pass any laws in the village, it can propose one to the village board for consideration. The association hopes such a law would stop businesses from taking part in illegal activities, as was allegedly the case at Fit Body Acupressure and Foot Reflexology, where three women were arrested in November and charged with giving massages without a license, and one was charged with prostitution. The blinds in the storefront windows were always drawn at the Long Beach Road business.
"I think it’s safer for the community to see what’s going on in a store, and I think it’s safer for our police department," said Patti Ambrosia, president of the IPCA. "They can see what they’re walking into before they actually go in."
The IPCA credits the Village of Lawrence, which recently passed a similar law, with the idea. The Lawrence law, whose purpose is to preserve the aesthetics of the village, lays out guidelines for what businesses can display in their front windows and how much of the windows can be covered.
At their meeting last month, IPCA members voiced concerns about the possibility of drug deals taking place at a business on Long Beach Road whose windows are covered by white boards. According to the IPCA, it is impossible to see inside the store to determine what is going on.
Nassau County Police Detective Jean DeLuca said that the NCPD could neither confirm nor deny an investigation of the business.
The issue of covering windows of a business is not a simple one. While it may seem like a good idea for some businesses to have unblocked windows so potential customers can see inside, such a requirement would not make sense for others, and could even be detrimental to them. "We have a lot of service businesses here in Island Park that do not deal in retail at all," said Barbra Rubin, president of the Island Park Chamber of Commerce. "So there’s no reason to have a window or opening or anything else."
Such businesses — one example offered by Rubin was a repair shop — may have interiors that are messy due to the nature of their work. Others, she said, simply may not have anything inside that is worth being able to see. "Or we have businesses like mine, where we don’t want you to come here because we go to you," Rubin said. "We go on-site."
She also pointed out that if such a law were to require all businesses to have open fronts, some would have to install glass in their facades, which could be very costly.
Such a law has yet to be proposed to the Island Park village board, and even after such a proposal were made, it would be some time before a version of it would be finalized and voted on. "I’d have to look at it, whether or not it infringes on anyone’s rights," said Mayor Jim Ruzicka. "There’s some research that has to be done."
Comments about this story? ACostello@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
