Expansion planned for Great Neck Library

Great Neck Library is one step closer to expanding its main branch.

The Town of North Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a variance request from the library last week to modify its existing building at the corner of Bayview and Bluebird avenues.

The expansion will take the library from 47,000 square feet to nearly 56,000 feet and reconfigure the parking lot.

The board approved a request to have 92 on-site parking spots, rather than the 164 spots required by the code. On-street parking is available nearby.

The board also allowed for smaller parking spaces than required.

“It does not appear that there will be any direct impact on nearby properties,” the board said in its decision. “While the variance itself is numerically significant, on balance, the impact of any parking shortfall on the neighborhood and surrounding properties is not significant enough to deny the proposed expansion.”

The library trustees will have to go to the Town Board for a site plan review, and then to voters to approve funding.