By Kristy O’Connell
The Village of New Hyde Park announced plans on Tuesday to require further in-depth study of the potential environmental impact of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership proposed for 1324 Jericho Turnpike.
The proposal by Amir Jarrah, the owner of Miracle Mile Harley-Davidson in Great Neck, has faced a significant backlash since it was introduced in October 2015.
In August 2016, Jarrah submitted a study that examined the dealership’s potential effect on property values, noise levels, traffic and quality of life in the village. It determined that the dealership would not have an overall negative impact.
The village hired an engineering firm, Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, last year to review that study. The firm has recommended that the village launch an extensive environmental impact review of the application, Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said at Tuesday’s village Board of Trustees meeting.
Montreuil said that as a result of the decision to further investigate the environmental impact of the proposed dealership, the owner is required to develop a scoping document, an outline of an environmental study, to be reviewed in a public hearing.
Then, the applicant must draft an official environmental impact statement, which will also be subject to review by the village, its consultant and the public, Montreuil said.
The process is governed by the State Environmental Quality Review Act, an environmental law.
Montreuil said that the ongoing review, which is to be paid for by the applicant, does not have a timeline, but that a public hearing on the dealership’s scoping document will likely not be held until September.
Reached by phone early Wednesday afternoon, Jarrah said he was in a meeting and was not immediately available to comment.
Jarrah wants to move his Great Neck dealership to the current site of Miller Brothers Plumbing & Heating. He plans to build a new 8,000-square-foot motorcycle showroom and 6,200-square-foot basement repair shop. Construction would take about a year.
One village resident, who asked to remain unnamed, said he is skeptical of the dealership’s previous study, calling it “comical.” He said that the addition of a Harley Davidson dealership in the village is not at all the equivalent to the addition of a car dealership.
“It’s not just a dealership, it’s a clubhouse,” he said. “It’s going to ruin the village.”
The resident said that the location is especially distasteful considering its position across from New Hope Community Church, next door to residential homes and just a few blocks from the New Hyde Park Road School.
At the initial public hearing for the plan in October 2015, Jarrah said his Great Neck motorcycle dealership has peacefully coexisted for years with an adjacent residential neighborhood.
He has previously criticized the village for unnecessarily delaying his application.
Noah Manskar contributed reporting.
