Residents upset over Hempstead rezoning

Tempers flared this week over a Hempstead Turnpike rezoning plan and what residents described as the inconsistency of rejecting a proposed IHOP but approving a Walgreens.

The Hempstead Town Board voted in January to modify the proposed plan for the turnpike in Elmont to include mixed-use development with the addition of aesthetic requirements.

The Elmont section of the corridor -- from Queens to Franklin Square -- would be rezoned into four subdistricts with specific uses, building height requirements, design and parking guidelines. The town board is expected to take a final vote on the plan Tuesday.

"It's not what everyone wanted, but I think it is a good start," said Town Councilman Edward Ambrosino at a heated Elmont Chamber of Commerce meeting Wednesday night, adding the rezoning would include mixed-use only along the former Argo Theater property, near Elmont Road. "We need to start somewhere and then expand later down the turnpike."

But community advocates and residents said they want the plan to allow mixed-use -- apartments over ground-level retail stores -- around Meacham Avenue. "We didn't get 5 percent of what we wanted," said Pat Nicolosi, president of the Elmont East End Civic Association.

Local developer Muzzio Tallini, a chamber member, said mixed-use improves commerce and leads to pedestrian-friendly areas and safer streets. "I would not invest another dollar if you keep the zoning how it is," said Tallini, who may have to give up on plans for a mixed-use development near Meacham Avenue.

Chamber members were also upset about the town appeals board's denial of a proposed IHOP at a vacant site between Lincoln and Benson avenues. Ambrosino said the project lacked sufficient parking.

Residents also were puzzled by the appeals board's approval of a proposed Walgreens at Meacham Avenue, despite residents' concerns about traffic, parking issues and the displacement of seven businesses in the strip mall. "I think you are sending the wrong message, and it's a slap to the face to the small businesses there," Noah Sheroff, of Franklin Square, told Ambrosino.

Ambrosino defended the Walgreens as a "good project" but said he would recommend that the mall owner redo the site plan to expand what residents described as a "dangerous" corner at Meacham Avenue.

He said the plan would eliminate drug traffic near the mall's convenience store. But Faheem Khan, the store's owner, said Thursday, "We are not responsible for what goes on outside, just what goes on in our store."