Date for much-discussed public hearing in Roslyn to be reset

Rose Weldon
Roslyn Mayor John Durkin, Deputy Mayor Marshall Bernstein and Trustee Marta Genovese at Tuesday's meeting. (Photo by Rose Weldon)

The Roslyn Board of Trustees will be moving the date of a much-discussed public hearing originally set for mid-April.

The board is considering a proposed law to amend the village code and create a “transit-oriented mixed used district,” and had set a public hearing to consider the proposal for April 13.

Roslyn resident Jerry Karlik and his development firm J.K. Equities had requested a change of zone from commercial to mixed-use in hopes of building a structure with one floor of retail and three floors of apartments on Warner Avenue near the Long Island Rail Road station.

The proposal would change a zone in the village to allow for the proposal and construction of transit-oriented mixed-use development, which attracted a negative reception from residents and members of the Roslyn school district’s board in October.

At Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, school board President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy pointed out that the April date, which is a Monday, fell during a school break for Easter and Passover holidays that would lead to residents being out of town or home for religious observances.

Village Attorney John Gibbons said that the hearing had been changed from the board’s regular date, the third of Tuesday of the month, because the village budget hearing had to be held before April 15.

“That creation of a new zone is something I know the public would like you to hear their view on, and I know you want to hear the view of the public on that,” Ben-Levy said. “We’ve discussed this before, and that application, which has been adjourned to that date, is an application that I know many people would like to be heard on, but more so. The intention of this board is to be accessible to the public and to provide a public hearing in every sense of the word, and I don’t think on that date, if it’s that date alone, will achieve the goal.”

Gibbons said he would talk to village Clerk Anita Frangella about rescheduling the date and would inform the public when a new date was agreed upon.

“I think that’s probably the best solution, if it’s possible,” Ben-Levy said in response.

The decision will also affect an application to construct a 12-story apartment building on Lumber Road, which has been postponed at least twice since September and was scheduled to be discussed on April 13.

Roslyn’s Board of Trustees will next meet on Wednesday, March 18, at 8 p.m.

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