On Tuesday night the Floral Park Board of Trustees commemorated a resident who died while serving in the Army, swore in a new police officer and held a public hearing on a special use permit.
On Aug. 18, 1971, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed near Pegnitz, a city of about 15,000 in the southeast German state of Bavaria, killing 37 American servicemen, including Floral Park native Arthur R. Kearney Jr.
Arthur, better known as Artie, was the oldest of 10 siblings and graduated from St. Mary’s High School, according to the village’s Facebook. Upon graduation from Boston University and later obtaining his master’s degree, Kearney enlisted and was stationed in 1970 in Germany as part of a U.S. Army mortar platoon. He was 24 when he died.
This August, 50 years after the fatal crash, Pegnitz commemorated those who were lost at the site where the crash took place, according to the village’s Facebook.
Before the board meeting began, Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald read a letter sent to the City of Pegnitz and archivist Andreas Bayerlein expressing appreciation for their efforts in memorializing those lost.
The board’s first order of business before agenda items was to swear in a new officer, Thomas Fallon, to the Floral Park Police Department. After a unanimous vote from the trustees present, Fitzgerald recited the oath with him and paused the meeting for the board and his family to take pictures with Mr. Fallon.
Trustee Frank Chiara was not present at Tuesday night’s meeting. Fallon began his tenure at the department on Wednesday.
A public hearing was held for a special use permit submitted for 139 Jericho Turnpike. The application was submitted by Catapano Engineering on behalf of JTP Gas Inc. and is seeking to perform major reconstruction on the property where a Metro Fuel gas station and food mart are located.
The special use permit is similar to one that was subject to a public hearing on March 20, 2019. That application was made by Naomi Kirschner and sought to do construction on the property. The difference with this application is that major changes are being proposed because, according to attorney Kevin O’Brien of Murphy, Bartol and O’Brien LLP, all parties involved were able to consider more efficient plans for the property after COVID-19.
Included in the changes between the two applications are a reconstruction and relocation of the food mart, two self service pump islands instead of three, and an increase in parking spots. As for underground changes, O’Brien said the existing gasoline storage tanks and piping will need to be removed and replaced with two 10,000-gallon gasoline storage tanks. One of the tanks will hold regular fuel, while the other will split its storage with premium and diesel fuel.
O’Brien said that construction usually takes three to four months but depends on factors such as the timetable for removing gasoline tanks and getting materials in from suppliers.
The board moved discussion over the application to a future meeting, most likely in October, so trustees can review the transcript and go over any other details before making a decision, Fitzgerald said.
