Luxury-car Motor Club makes pitch for a site in Syosset

The Town of Oyster Bay is considering a plan to convert a former printing building in Syosset to an exclusive luxury car club.

Thomas Abbate, an attorney representing the owner of the 1.1-acre site at 149 Eileen Way, which has a one-story building on it, said the proposal — called Motor Club — would offer storage and display of 28 luxury vehicles and a premium subscription to an exclusive club for high-end car owners.

Car storage is legally allowed at the location, but the town board needs to approve a special-use permit that allows for a private membership club at the property, Abbate said.

“Vehicle storage is at a premium, especially for the high-end luxury car market. We’re talking McLarens, Ferraris, Lamborghinis,” Abbate said. “Those owners are very particular about where they store their cars … it has to be pristine. Those cars are investments.”

The town board voted at its meeting last Tuesday to keep the project proposal open for public comment for at least 14 days.

Renderings of the proposal show cars on two levels within a glass-enclosed display area separated from lounge space and office rooms. Members would pay an annual fee to be a part of the club.

“This is a private club,” Abbate said. “It will not be open to the public.”

The project would not expand the current building, according to the site plan. The site is zoned light industrial. Its hours of operation would be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Outdoor car meetups, known as “road rallies,” won’t be held at the site, Abbate said.

Thomas Mazzola, the project’s traffic expert, found the Motor Club would be a less-intense use than the past uses of the location. The plan exceeds the town’s required number of parking spaces.

Town officials raised questions over security at the location. Councilwoman Laura Maier asked how the vehicles will be secured and how owners would be able to access the cars on display.

Theo Neocli, of Roslyn Heights, the owner of the site, said the keys for the stored cars will be in a locked vault. The display area won’t be accessible to the car owners, and employees will be responsible for moving the vehicles out of the glassed-in section of the building.

If the car owners want to take their car off-site, they will have to request an employee move the car out of the glassed-in space and into an indoor garage area. An app for the club members will grant them access to that space.

Neocli said there will be an exhaust system installed to address any fumes created by moving the vehicles.