Hearing on Commack gas station proposal

Some Smithtown Town officials see the abandoned Shell gas station near Sunken Meadow Parkway in Commack as an eyesore that needs replacing.

"It is the first thing you see when you come off the parkway," Town Councilman Robert Creighton said. "It's a horrible looking site."

But to some Commack residents and business owners, a proposed Hess Express gas station and convenience store would worsen traffic at the busy intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Harned Road.

"It's a disaster on that corner," said Rudy Massa, owner of Gasoline Heaven on Jericho Turnpike, who insists he's more concerned about safety than about competition from Hess.

Four years after the Smithtown Town Board rejected an attempt by Hess to build there, the company has stirred intense reaction again with a nearly identical plan.

The new proposal pits the town's desire for more business -- and tax revenue -- against concerns about traffic and safety at a complex intersection with five corners and parkway service lanes.

Dozens of people are expected to turn out at 7 p.m. Thursday for the Town Board's public hearing on the proposal, at the town senior citizens center, 420 Middle Country Rd.

Woodbridge, N.J.-based Hess is seeking a zoning change that would allow 12 gas pumps and the store on two parcels, which the company would rent. The properties' owners say the business would employ 18 people and generate tax revenue.

"The town is losing money, a great deal of money from both properties," said Jacob Fayenson, owner of the parcel occupied by Shell until it closed five years ago. "It's not a dangerous intersection. It's safe for everybody."

Town Board members, who voted 3-2 in 2008 to reject Hess' proposal, remain divided over the plan.

"It's an unseemly corner," said Supervisor Patrick Vecchio, who opposed the 2008 plan. "It's an enormous amount of traffic at that intersection daily."

But Creighton, who supported the earlier plan, said traffic accidents there are not unusually frequent for a busy highway. "It has been a derelict building for the last 10 years, and I would like to see something there that is presentable," he said.

In a statement, Hess said, "Extensive traffic studies show that our site plans will not create additional traffic risks or adversely affect the flow of traffic in the intersection."

Opponents -- including state Assemb. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-St. James), the Commack Community Association and local business owners -- would prefer a bank or pharmacy there.

"What is the argument against the station on that corner?" Fitzpatrick said. "It's safety, safety, safety."

In its statement, Hess said a gas station "will restore a property that has been vacant for years to productive use, and put a well-maintained business at the entrance to the town as people come off the Sunken Meadow Parkway."