The Mineola Village Board reserved decision on a special-use permit for Bolla Management to erect a 24-hour gas station and convenience store at 449 Jericho Turnpike last Wednesday night following a second public hearing in which residents expressed opposition to the project.
As they had at the first hearing last month, residents expressed concerns about increased traffic, and noise and lighting around the gas station,
“This is not a 24/7 village,” said Latham Road resident Richard Corrao. “It robs us residents of what we always had, a quiet suburban enclave.”
“Who needs another 24-hour convenience store? I don’t want rats. I want my kids to be safe,” said White Road resident Gina Buongiovani. “This doesn’t belong there. It just doesn’t.”
Bollas has proposed a gas station that would accommodate 12 cars and a 2,250-square foot convenience store on a lot located between White and Latham roads at the border of a residential neighborhood south of Jericho Turnpike, which has been vacant since a Getty station burned down five years ago.
Bolla president and CEO Harry Singh said at the initial hearing that he owns or leases 85 gas stations with convenience stores – all of which are 24-hour operations. He said he intended to invest $2.5 million in developing the site and most sites that he operates have increased property values surrounding his stores.
The board agreed to await a review by the Nassau County Planning Commission before voting on Bolla’s proposal.
But former village Trustee Lawrence Werther appeared during the hearing and charged that the board appeared favorably disposed toward Bolla’s proposal.
“It seems to me you guys are leaning toward approving this,” Werther said.
Village officials disputed Werther’s claim.
“You shouldn’t assume that,” said village Trustee Paul Cusatoi.
“I can’t see how you can say that,” Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss added.
Werther, who frequently clashed with Strauss while on the board and lost a re-election bid in November, also submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for all communications, including e-mails, between village trustees, Bolla representatives and attorneys for both sides.
After the hearing, Werther said he was interested in communications between village attorney John Spellman and David Altman, the attorney representing Bolla.
“What I question is the village board’s willingness to take any action should this thing not work,” Werther said.
Strauss adjourned the first hearing last month because many residents had already gone home before the three-hour public hearing ended and he said he wanted to give everyone a chance to speak.
At Wednesday night’s meeting, Singh was non-committal when asked by one resident if he would still build the station and convenience store if a 24-hour operation was not permitted.
“Tough question to answer. I’d have to look at the numbers,” he said.
Area resident Matilda Wojis said other Bolla facilities in Nassau County are located at large intersections in non-residential areas.
“If it has to go in, I hope it’s not a 24-hour business,” she said.
In response to a question from village Trustee Dennis Walsh, Chris Tartaglia of Highpoint Engineering said Bolla would seek to minimize noise from deliveries of gas and convenience store items.
“We’re going to do what we can to get the deliveries on off-peak hours,” Tartaglia said.
Tartaglia also said the LED lighting on the site would be screened by the 14-foot evergreens to be planted behind the convenience store at the rear of the site.
“We can state emphatically there will be absolutely no impact of lighting from that property,” Tartaglia said.
Charles Olivo of Stonefield Engineering, said at last month’s hearing that a traffic study he conducted on the site during peak traffic hours showed that 2,000 vehicles pass the Jericho Turnpike location in an hour during peak times in the morning and evening, with 100 vehicles traveling on White and Latham roads. He had estimated 61 vehicles would enter and exit during peak morning hours, with 81 vehicles stopping there during the evening rush hour.
But Pereira said those calculations did not account for the potential of the location to become a “magnet” site that could potentially draw business from a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts and other area gas stations.
Residents also expressed concerns about the safety of students who walk to and from schools in the area with the potential for increased traffic drawn by the Bolla facility.
White Road resident Maria McCarey said 921 children travel by foot to and from the Mineola High School, the middle school and the Jackson Avenue School, based on numbers she said she obtained from the respective schools. McCarey presented a petition that she said bore 124 of her neighbors’ signatures opposing the Bolla development.
