An East Shore Road lumber company will have to revamp its store’s signage after its two-years late permit application was rejected by the Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees on Tuesday.
The board took exception to the actions of Feldman Lumber, which has put up multiple signs, including one featuring a large advertisement for Benjamin Morris paint, without the board’s consent.
“You’ve put us in a very bad situation,” said Village of Great Neck Deputy Mayor Mitchell Beckerman to Feldman’s representative at the meeting. “Part of us feels some empahty for the fact that you spent this money on these signs, but you did it in total disregard for the village.
Feldman’s ownersr and legal counsel did not attend the meeting.
The company sent an employee to present the application, who was largely quiet as the board told him that Feldman would have to resubmit an application for code-compliant signage at the next board meeting in November.
The board said that there were several problems with Feldman’s four signs, including the use of signage for advertising, the placement of a phone number on the signs and one sign’s red-orange color scheme.
But the board focused most of its ire on the years-late application.
“I can’t believe you have counsel and it’s taken two years to do this,” said Mayor Ralph Kreitzman.
“[The signs] were designed and directed without regard for our requirements for signs,” said Trustee Jeffrey Bass. “Come back to us with something we can look at and opine upon that reflects what we’d like to see in our village.”
Feldman Lumber is located in a more heavily commercial area than most of the village, on the eastern edge of the peninsula. The board said that the code and the requirement to submit applications before erecting signage apply regardless of location
While Beckerman said that he sympathized with company due to the investment it has already put into the signs, Bass was less charitable.
“I don’t have any empathy for… an entity that doesn’t follow our code,” he said.
Reach reporter Dan Glaun by e-mail at dglaun@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
