A petition has been launched against an application to put a 7-Eleven in a long-abandoned location on Plandome Road.
The site is a former mechanic’s shop at 260 Plandome Road that owner David Mandel separated into stalls and offers to rent for commuters taking the Long Island Rail Road, with the Manhasset station directly across the street.
An application for a conditional use permit for retail and food use has been filed with the Town of North Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals, though no hearing date has yet been set.
Created by resident and activist Mary Kay Barket, the petition has so far amassed 743 signatures.
“We, the residents of Manhasset and surrounding areas, request that the TONH BZA deny the application from 7-Eleven to allow a conditional use permit for retail food sales submitted for the property located at 260 Plandome Road,” Barket wrote in a statement accompanying the petition. “A 7-Eleven will further erode the safety of residents as well as be adverse to the character of our neighborhood downtown ‘main street,’ Plandome Road.”
Barket continued that “a 7-Eleven will negatively impact our Manhasset quality of life and character of our downtown neighborhood,” citing an increase of cars on Plandome Road “at ALL HOURS of the day and night…including many that will make a LEFT turn entering and exiting from Plandome Road.”
“Any increased traffic further endangers our community – both pedestrians and drivers,” Barket wrote.
Some users of the site left comments expressing distaste for the application.
“24 hr access to beer and tobacco products is wrong in this location, too close to schools and the train,” one anonymous user wrote. “Plandome Rd is dangerous and this will make it worse.”
“There are other places to go like the convenience store where you buy Mobil gas opposite Macy’s without taking away from the hometown feel of Plandome Road,” another wrote. “If 7 Eleven goes in, what’s next? McDonalds? Pizza Hut? Other communities do a better job of maintaining a local feel like Great Neck and Old Roslyn. Manhasset should follow their lead.”
“The town’s quaint feeling where kids can go in and out of stores safely will be compromised if [7-Eleven] enters the picture,” one other wrote.
“Bad and unwelcome,” another comment reads. “These non-residents customers will park trucks and trailers and clog our roads wherever they can to purchase discount food and beverage. It will be very dangerous to our families and seniors who use Hillcrest Ave. early morning and during the day to connect to Plandome Road and to school. Hillcrest already can’t handle any more traffic from a notoriously high volume commercial enterprise. This activity will decrease patronage of existing retail. Find a safe place on Northern Blvd.”
“Manhasset is my home, I don’t want to see it go down the drain to a shady crowd,” yet another wrote. “This cannot happen.”
One unnamed user, who did not say whether or not they signed the petition, provided a defense for the application.
“How is this any different from Dunkin’ or Starbucks?” the user wrote. “We already have chains in our town and it suddenly comes a problem when one particular company does it. It doesn’t make sense to me. 7/11 doesn’t sell nicotine and alcohol to kids as they would get sued. It would drive business to Manhasset as people will be in the area and decide to buy pizza somewhere that isn’t a gas station. Also, it wouldn’t be any more harm to children because if they wanted to get their hands on soda and junk food, they’d go to Walgreens and Raindew.”
The petition’s organizer encouraged signers to act quickly.
“Let the [Town of North Hempstead’s] Board of Zoning Appeals know that a 7-Eleven is not welcomed on our main street,” Barket wrote. “A Town BZA public hearing is not yet scheduled, but we need to act NOW and STRONGLY to oppose this application!”
