Glen Cove auxiliary police force relocates as Village Square prepares for demolition

Glen Cove's auxiliary police force has moved from its headquarters in the Village Square to a trailer due to the planned development in the square.

Mayor Reginald Spinello said Monday the auxiliary force was one of the last tenants remaining on the site where a Great Neck developer plans to build apartments and retail space.

Spinello said he doesn't know when demolition of existing buildings on the site will start. "My hope is that it will begin by the end of year," he said.

Michael Puntillo's Jobco Realty and Construction Inc. owns most of the land for the project, which was designed to have a large publicly accessible square surrounded by apartment buildings with ground-floor businesses.

Construction of a stand-alone Panera Bread on the site is scheduled to start Tuesday, Spinello said.

The City Council approved an $18,000 budget transfer at its meeting last Wednesday to buy the trailer, which is on Shore Road, adjacent to the city's Harbor Patrol trailer, officials said.

The city has rented space on the Village Square at $600 a month for the auxiliary police, which has a staff of about a dozen and whose responsibilities include traffic control and opening and closing of beaches and parks.

Spinello said he believed Puntillo was negotiating to buy two more Village Square properties. Also he said the site owned by Robert Sztorc, who runs his State Farm insurance business there, will remain. Spinello said the project will likely be built around Sztorc's business.

Puntillo couldn't be reached for comment.

There were discussions of using eminent domain, but that option has been taken off the table, Spinello said.

Sztorc's wife, Lorraine, said Monday that she and her husband have long expected their business would stay and the project would be constructed around them.