The North Hempstead Town Board unanimously approved the site plans for an Amazon distribution center in Carle Place on Thursday.
Board members voted 7-0 to approve the conversion of the site formerly used by Waldbaum’s supermarket at 2 Westbury Ave. in Carle Place into a distribution center for Amazon. According to the plans presented by Brad Griggs, Amazon’s senior manager of economic development, the center will function as the final destination for packages before they are delivered to customers.
Discussions to turn the 7.4-acre commercial site owned by Brisbane-Steel Carle Place LLC, which submitted the application to the town, had been underway since January. Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth cited Amazon’s efforts to listen to communal concerns.
“Through several meetings with various neighborhood stakeholders, Amazon has clearly demonstrated that they care about our community,” Bosworth said in a statement. “As they set up shop in a long vacant facility, we are pleased to welcome them to the Town.”
Some residents expressed concerns about the impact of fleets of trucks and vans on local traffic and residential neighborhoods.
“Any of the vans that would typically be in that area are making deliveries to that area,” Griggs said. “If not, they are utilizing the major roadways as the most efficient [means] to get to their external delivery points.”
Griggs said there will be a seven-hour window for traffic from midnight to 7 a.m. Amazon officials said they anticipate a dozen 18-wheel tractor-trailers to make daily trips to the facility, while van deliveries would be made in waves throughout the day.
Regarding staffing for the facility, Griggs told Councilwoman Vivian Russell that the company’s intent is to hire as many residents as possible to create job flow for the town. Griggs did not mention an exact number of positions that would be offered to residents.
“We want to partner with the supervisor, with you, Councilwoman Russell, and with the Carle Place community, on hosting events in the area to allow for the residents in the area to be part of the first key wave of associates and managers hired at this facility,” Briggs said.
Amazon spokesperson Emily Hawkins told Newsday that operations at the facility are expected to begin in the later months of 2020, after a distribution center in Shirley opens in September.
