Villagers wary of proposed 24-hour CVS

A proposal to move a CVS to a busy corner in Lindenhurst has some residents concerned about how it would affect the qualify of life in the area.

Matrix Realty Associates LLC applied to build a 24-hour CVS with a drive-through prescription window at the northeast corner of Montauk Highway and South Wellwood Avenue. CVS would close operations at a smaller building it leases several blocks north at 150 S. Wellwood Ave.

The building would require rezoning. Most of the property CVS wants to use is zoned residential, said attorney Steve Kretz, who made a presentation before a village planning board hearing last week. A height variance would also be needed to allow building eight feet higher than the current 24-foot requirement, he said. The building -- which would be on a 72,988-square-foot lot with 79 parking spots -- would be done in a style comparable to others in the village, Kretz said, made with brick and stone and a mansard roof.

But some residents worried that the site might become a teen hangout, leading to litter and late-night noise. Maryann Currie, who lives across the street from the site, told the board she fears her "quality of life will be adversely affected" and that she will lose her "harmonious way of life."

While engineer Patrick Lenihan cited traffic studies that showed there would be minimal impact at the site, Colleen Ullmer, 52, who lives north of the site, expressed concern about the safety of children who are in the area after school. "It's already a busy corner," she said. "To suddenly have a 24-hour, big retail store there is going to have an impact . . . and it's definitely going to increase traffic."

The planning board asked for additional information on the plans, including an expanded accident analysis for the site.