Shops may be razed in Wyandanch revitalization

An entire shopping center will have to be displaced to make room for a planned transit facility in Wyandanch, according to an environmental assessment released by the Town of Babylon.

But the owner of the shopping center said she had not been told of the assessment and does not want to sell.

The transit facility is part of the massive downtown revitalization "Wyandanch Rising." The development near the LIRR station will include a six-level parking structure that will serve as a transportation hub, accommodating train and bus riders. Adjoining it will be a 2.6-acre public plaza with seating, green space and bike racks.

Supervisor Steve Bellone said the "intermodal" project is important because it "creates a real place, a real community center in the downtown that will facilitate further revitalization."

According to the assessment, which was completed by the town and reviewed by the Federal Transit Administration, the town needs to acquire three parcels. One is owned by the county, the others by private owners: a car dealer storage lot and the shopping center, which is home to more than 10 businesses.

The town has spent $15.5 million on property acquisitions in Wyandanch and approved another $3 million in June. Of the 19 properties already acquired, four were taken through eminent domain, at a cost of $4.2 million, the town said.

"I'm happy with what I have," said Guita Neman, who has been landlord of the shopping center for 20 years. "I made this with all my heart. The people there are very good and this is the only way they have to make money."

Bellone said the town wants to work with businesses that wish to stay in the community.

"We want every existing business in Wyandanch that is successful that wants to remain to be able to do so, and be able to grow and expand," he said. "They may not be operating out of that exact retail space they're in now, but there's going to be tons of opportunity to operate out of either existing or new retail space."

Neman said she had not heard from the town recently and did not know the land would be needed for the revitalization. Disabled and a widow, she said the shopping center is her "only bread and butter."

Business owners in the shopping center, which the assessment said employs 58 people, also said they had not heard much from the town.

"For the most part we knew it was in the works, but there's still a lot of gray area," said Amir Qureshi, owner of Welcome 99¢ & Quick Mart, the largest business in the center.

Qureshi said he wants to expand his business to include a pharmacy and deli but feels stymied by a lack of information from the town. "That's the frustrating part of this whole process," he said. "You want to know what to do, how you can plan to move forward."

Bellone said workers at the Wyandanch resource center, located across the railroad tracks from the shopping center, have stepped up efforts to reach out.

"Any discussions that a business owner has had with us in the last six months it would have been, 'Yes, this property is part of the revitalization,'" he said.

The assessment estimated the cost of the entire intermodal project at $65 million and said construction would begin next year.

The Reaction

 Amir Qureshi, owner of the Welcome 99¢ & Quick Mart store
Qureshi, who has been at site for seven years, said he has yet to receive paperwork from the town about the displacement. "We're not getting too many answers," he said. He said he wants to expand his business but needs to know what the town's plans are in order to move forward. "Until we get some kind of notice from the town, for now it's business as usual. But we have this in the back of our minds."

John Kim, owner of Wyandanch Beauty Supply
Kim has owned his shop for nine years and said he wants to stay right where he is in the shopping center. He said he didn't realize the town was going to take over the land where the center sits. "I'm very disappointed if they've decided already they're going to do it. I hope they're not going to do it." 

Felice Holder, shopping center patron
Holder said she is a regular shopper at the center. "I think a lot of the businesses here are good," she said. She said some, such as the 99¢ store, are big supporters of the community. "I think [the revitalization] is going to be beneficial, but [the town] has got to be real with them," Holder said. 

Ethel Edwards, shopping center patron
Edwards said she has been going to the shopping center for more than 10 years. Her 80-year-old mother lives nearby and it is convenient for her. Whether the redevelopment will prove successful remains to be seen, Edwards said. "We'll see if they're doing it for themselves or for the community," she said.

-- Compiled by Denise M. Bonilla