A proposal by the owners of Kyma to open a second restaurant at the former site of Poco Loco ran into resident opposition at the Village of Roslyn’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday.
Jeff Blank, a partner in an Ameriprise Financial franchise in a building located next to the former Mexician restaurant at 1431 Old Northern Blvd., said another restaurant would exacerbate existing parking problems in the area.
“If you grant them any permit, the whole place is going to be a mess,” said Blank, a resident of East Hills.
He said the valet service for Kyma restaurant, which is located across the street from the site of Poco Loco, has already taken over the Poco Loco restaurant parking lot and other nearby places to park.
Sandeep Israni, Blank’s business partner at Ameriprise Financial, said he and his partner have both complained to the owner of Kyma, Remo Christou, but the issue persists.
“It’s been going on for months and you think they’ll stop but they still park there,” Israni said. “I’ve complained many times and it’s starting to get ridiculous.”
Zoning board member Mark Trantel said he sympathized with Blank and Israni.
“These gentlemen have been inconveinced by your operation,” Trantel told Christou, who was in attendance. “I’m as capitalistic as you can be but we have to be mindful of our residents.”
Christian Brown, an attorney representing the owners of Kyma, who are operating as 1431 LLC , said the restaurant was seeking a variance for parking to permit the restaurant to operate with 21 parking spaces rather than the 58 called for under the zoning code.
Brown suggested his client could make up for the 32 parking space with a valet service that would bring cars to other parking locations.
“Since the restaurant will have a capacity of 92 people and it’s three people in car, we can make up for it by providing valet during dinner around 5 p.m.,” Brown said.
Village Deputy Attorney John Spellman asked Brown how he came to the numbers.
“I’m assuming people don’t like dine alone,” Brown said.
Brown said his client has secured another parking spot at 49 Bryant Ave. to address the concerns of residents.
“My client said they have secured a the location on Bryant Avenue which is has 45 spots that they haven’t started utilizing,” Brown said.
He also said his client is willing to impose parking restrictions on its employees not to park on the restaurant’s parking lot.
“So where will your employees park their own cars,” Young asked.
“Well, they can park somewhere in town,” Brown said.
Barry Glantz, a resident at 1435 Old Northern Blvd. said he was disappointed that the zoning board granted 1431 LLC a building permit to begin renovation of the building.
“I don’t understand how you granted this restaurant a permit without assessing the parking conditions in the area,” Glantz said. “It’s a mess. They don’t play by the rules and it’s going to get worse.”
Zoning board member Bruce Young said although Glantz’s complaints about Kyma were valid, it was not the board’s responsibility to enforce parking rules in the village.
“When restaurants appear before the board, they agree to certain financial conditions and certain restrictions but we’re not a police force,” Young said.
“It is totally wrong and we shouldn’t be pushed around because they’re a fancy restaurant,” Glantz responded.
Brown said he doesn’t expect the restaurant to be crowded during the day because the restaurant will serve Mediterranean cuisine and is not a bar or a club.
Bart Loiodice, who resides at 22 Skillman St., said besides the parking issues, granting 1431 LLC a permit could be a potentially dangerous for residents.
“The valet parking is going to be very dangerous,” Loiodice said.
Loiodice said the valet service at Kyma has been reckless and an accident occurred Saturday night because the valet drivers were allegedly car racing each other.
“My son is a cop, he told me about this,” Loiodice said.
Spellman said he’s aware of the accident, which occurred on Lumber Road and Old Northern Boulevard.
“People could get killed,” Loiodice said.
Loiodice also said water from Kyma restaurant drains down to his property.
“I don’t even know. Rain water or whatever water from their restaurant comes on my property,” Loiodice said. “I usually need a boat to get in my property.”
Brown said the building is still owned by Harendra Singh, of the Singh Hospitality Group, but 1431 LLC has taken over reconstruction and redesign of the building.
“Under the current lease agreement, my client has taken over the reconstruction and permit filing process with intent to buy the place should the board grant this permit,” Brown said.
Poco Loco restaurant was shuttered in August 2014 after a fire damaged the restaurant.
Singh was indicted in 2015 on a 13-count indictment for paying bribes and kickbacks to a Town of Oyster Bay employee in exchange for guaranteeing loans to operate food concessions within the town.
Brown said the new owners would operate the restaurant with a new name and new menu because of Singh’s pending legal issues.
The new restaurant will reopen with the same seating as Poco Loco with 92 table seats and nine bar seats, Brown said.
The 790 square foot retail space at the front of the building will remain in place but will serve as wine storage, Brown said.
Zoning board Chairman Leslie Waltzer said the village has hired an outside consultant to conduct traffic study in the village that it is still ongoing to address traffic concerns.
The board voted unanimously to adjourn the hearing, pending further examination of the parking issues that the new restaurant might create and ways the new owners intend to address them.
