Supporters, opposition gear up for hearing on proposed hotel development

Signs supporting and opposing a proposed Jericho hotel have appeared along roadways near the Milleridge Inn in advance of a Tuesday night hearing in Oyster Bay.

New Hyde Park-based Kimco Realty is seeking a special use permit from the town to allow it to build a three-floor Marriott Residence Inn in a rear parking lot of the Jericho Commons shopping center, which it owns. The project needs a variance from the town because it would provide 552 fewer parking spaces than the 2,128 required under the town zoning code. Area residents concerned about traffic, parking and privacy have organized to stop the project.

The Oyster Bay Town Board postponed a Dec. 11 hearing on the proposal to build the 93-room hotel in response to resident complaints about insufficient notification and not scheduling the hearing during the day. 

“They shouldn’t build a commercial hotel in the heart of Jericho,” said Alice Zhang, 50, an accountant who lives on Merry Lane, the residential street directly behind the proposed hotel. Zhang said parents were worried that additional traffic spilling onto residential streets would endanger children using the library, playground and nearby school. "It's not safe for the children," she said.

The Birchwood Civic Association, which represents homeowners adjacent to the shopping center, reversed an earlier position supporting the project after a Jan. 15 association meeting.

 “Based on current information available about the proposed construction of a hotel adjacent to the Milleridge Cottage site and the objections and concerns expressed by community residents … the board of directors of the Birchwood Civic Association cannot support the hotel project at this time,” a statement on the organization’s website announced.

Opponents have held petition drives at the Jericho Public Library on Merry Lane on Saturday afternoons, providing a notary for the petitions. They also set up a website in English and Mandarin for organizing opposition. U.S. Census estimates from 2018 show that 31.9 percent of Jericho's population is Asian, compared with 11.1 percent for all of Oyster Bay Town 

In emailed statements, Kimco vice president Nicholas Brown said the hotel would not impact residents on Merry Lane and would provide tax benefits to the town and school district. 

 "The majority of the concerns that we’ve heard from the community are based on a lack of facts regarding the sensitivity of the project’s design and the benefits that it will afford to the area," Brown said in a statement.

The Jericho Chamber of Commerce, which was founded on Dec. 20 by public relations professional Todd Shapiro, voted to support the hotel project.

The group's first meeting on Jan. 8 included a large sign reading “Support the New Jericho Hotel!” and attendees signed petitions in favor of the project. Shapiro, who also performs public relations work for the Milleridge Inn and the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, said in an interview the chamber supports business generally. Brown said in an email that Kimco and the hotel operator started the petition drive.

Last month, Hauppauge-based Twenty Six Sunset, LLC, which would own the hotel, received a preliminary approval from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency for tax breaks for the project, IDA chairman Richard Kessel said. 

Kessel said the agency is reviewing the application, which asks for a 20-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement and other tax breaks. A public hearing on the project could come in February, after which the IDA board could vote on final approval for tax breaks, Kessel said.