Grace Ave. plan nears permit vote

Dan Glaun

After more than a year of presentations and revisions, developer and Village of Kings Point trustee Hooshang Nematzadeh’s proposed Grace Ave. apartment and retail building may soon get a vote in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.

Village of Great Neck Mayor Jean Celender said after Wednesday night’s board meeting that the board hopes to vote on a permit of compliance for Nematzadeh’s project at its Oct. 30 meeting.

If approved, the village would send the application to the Nassau County Planning Commission and the village’s board of zoning appeals for further approval.

Nematzadeh’s proposed building has gone through multiple revisions since its introduction in the summer of 2012. 

In the latest change, Nematzadeh addressed the concerns of neighboring property owner Michael Lamoretti, axing a proposed covered driveway that would have connected the two buildings and widening the driveway by a foot.

“This was what the neighbor objected to,” Nematzadeh said. 

Lamoretti had voiced concerns that the driveway canopy would have left his tenants with a dark view out their office windows.

The latest plans call for a building that would stand 35 feet tall and include 4,800 square feet of first-floor retail space, 30 residential units and a continuous curved balcony. The original plan called for  a five-story, 52-foot building that drew board concerns over density, height, parking and aesthetic design. 

Nematzadeh has said many of those concerns have now been addressed.

Should the village trustees approve the project’s permit of compliance, Nematzadeh will still have to seek variances from the board of zoning appeals.

Nematzadeh has requested two code variances, for a smaller-than-required setback and the right to build a fourth story.

The project takes advantage of the Plaza’s 2011 zoning reform, which allows mixed commercial-residential buildings in the downtown near the Long Island Rail Road station. 

The change was designed to provide housing options for commuters who might be discouraged by the area’s high real-estate prices.

The median price for a home in Great Neck is $877,500 in 2010, according to Newsday.

Also at the meeting, a proposed hearing on budget gym chain Planet Fitness’ application to take over the site of the New York Health and Racquet Club, which is closing, was postponed after a last-minute cancellation by the gym’s representatives.

Celender said the board was informed that Planet Fitness needed more time to consider its application just minutes before the scheduled hearing. The postponement was met with anger from dozens of residents who had filled Village Hall to attend the hearing, after a contentious first presentation in September that saw New York Health and Racquet Club members protest their gym’s replacement by the no-frills chain.

In addition to public disapproval, Planet Fitness faced a legal objection to its application from the village. 

Planet Fitness sought to offer tanning beds to premium members, while the village has a law on the books prohibiting that service – a dispute that Planet Fitness representative Brian Kunkel said in September could throw the company’s plans into doubt.

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