Babylon Town Board hears impassioned pleas to save Deer Park bowling alley

Supporters of a Deer Park bowling alley delivered impassioned pleas to the Babylon Town Board Wednesday night to reject the application of the alley’s property owner, who is seeking to turn the parcel into a storage facility.

LAG Associates LLC is asking the town to rezone the property on Long Island Avenue between Irving and Eastwood avenues from business and residence to industry. LAG Associates’ head Joseph Giaquinto wants to tear down the Strike 10 Lanes bowling alley and build a two-story, 38,000-square-foot Public Storage facility on the site.

At Wednesday night's public hearing on the rezoning, LAG Associates attorney Nicole Blanda told the board that Giaquinto gave a break to bowling alley owner Lou Seda during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in him "forgiving" about $84,000 in rent. Blanda said with fair market value, the property should yield about $20,000 to $22,000 in rent per month, but Seda has been paying $6,875 per month. She said that amount has "just become unsustainable" for Giaquinto.

Giaquinto previously told Newsday Seda was paying $5,000 a month.

'Financial burden'

"The landlord simply cannot continue to bear the financial burden of carrying the property and carrying a business that they’re not invested in, without some major changes," Blanda said. "No matter what there will be a change here, whether it’s based on current zoning or if we are given the benefit of the change of zone."

Seda did not speak at the hearing but in an interview with Newsday in March, he said that before the pandemic, he had been paying $15,000 per month but was currently paying $7,500 a month. Seda said that Giaquinto has not asked for a rent increase.

"I’ve had a decent relationship with the property owner," he said. "I do everything above and beyond the call of being a tenant in the building."

Dozens of people turned out for the hearing in a last-ditch attempt to sway the board and save the beloved bowling alley from demolition. Some spoke of the negative effects they predicted a storage facility would bring to the neighborhood, including the possibility of people living in the units, or storing dangerous items such as firecrackers or chemicals.

Plunging property values

Others who live nearby said they were worried about property values plunging and their quality of life taking a turn with a two-story storage building.

"I’ll be seeing light through my bedroom window when I’m trying to sleep at night," said John Azzara, who lives on Eastwood Avenue. "I won’t even see stars anymore."

The building has been operating as a bowling alley since 1959, according to town records.

Fans of the alley praised Seda for his dedication to the community, including allowing equipment storage for high school teams and providing a safe space for special needs individuals.

Seda, who has been running the 16-lane alley since 2014, said he’s been committed to the business out of his love for children and the sport.

"To see the kids when they start young and then they grow up and eventually they bring their kids around," he said.

Several parents with special needs children were at the hearing, including Elvia Salinas-Kahyaoglu, whose daughter Janissa Lloyd spoke to the board.

More than a bowling alley

"I am here with my friends to ask you to help us save Strike 10 bowling, a place where friendship, teamwork and inclusion come together," said Lloyd, who was born with Down syndrome. Lloyd plays on Brentwood High School’s Unified team that includes special education students.

"This is more than just a bowling alley," Salinas-Kahyaoglu told the board. "For many of our children, teens and adults with special needs, Strike 10 is a safe space where they can socialize, be active and simply have fun without judgment."

Lillian Pineda came with her special needs son Nicholas, who is also on the Brentwood Unified team.

"There’s little places where they can go and in the few years that he’s participated it’s something that he loves and enjoys and looks forward to," she said. "Seeing their smiles just means the world to us, especially as a special needs mom."

The town did not vote on the rezoning and Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said they would continue to accept written comments through 4:30 p.m. on May 20. Schaffer said the board has three options on the application: grant it, reject it or make no decision on it, which "in a sense kills the application."

When asked by a resident for a timeline, Schaffer said "it could take a couple of months" to review it.