The Village of Farmingdale Board of Trustees met on June 2 to consider several building permits put forth by several local businesses, namely the expansion of local tavern Croxley’s Ale House at 190 Main St. downtown.
During the meeting village board members voted unanimously to approve a special use permit to Croxley’s Ale House allowing the establishment to construct
an outdoor gathering area and expand the available parking for customers, said Mayor Ralph Ekstrand.
“They have purchased the building behind them, the old Safeway Electric place, with the intention to knock down the existing structures to construct an outdoor Beer Garden,” Ekstrand said. “Croxley Ales is a great place that I frequent often myself… for the past five years they’ve always paid the Village on-time when they’ve owed us money, and I see no reason not to grant their request once again.”
Croxley’s owner, Chris Werle, 48, said the Farmingdale venue has been a staple in the community for many years and was glad to receive the board’s final approval to begin construction of the beer garden.
“We’re very excited to change that corner,” said Werle. “It’s not that appealing to walk past that eyesore [Safeway Electric].”
The planned Beer Garden is set to include an outdoor area with large wooden tables and an interior area that overlooks the new outdoor section. Additional parking spots will also be purchased by Croxley Ales, which will not be exclusive to the establishment, but usable to the general public as well.
With business booming in Farmingdale’s downtown, Croxley’s hopes to further improve the visual aesthetic look of Main Street.
“Any time you go down Main St. and see vacant storefronts, it’s a bad thing for business,” Werle added. “Now that these businesses are opening up its definitely better for Main St. and for the village.”
At the meeting, trustees also approved a Special Use Permit to Splish Splash Art Studio at 230 Main St. to offer art classes and art-themed parties to the sales of paintings and art supplies in its showroom. Current law decrees that only retail business can occupy storefronts on Main Street, the art studio needed permission for dual use of the property.
After some debate among the trustees regarding the hours the retail business would actually be open to the public, the board approved the permit by a 3-2 vote with the owner given carte blanche to establish retail hours. The owner had been willing to be open to the public for a pre-set minimum number of hours, but in the end was not required to.
However, it was not all good news for the businesses seeking permits. The board denied a request from the Donalds at 665 Fulton St. to keep drive-through facilities open for 24 hours on weekends. Ekstrand said that after listening to the negative comments of local residents concerning potential noise, litter, and public disturbance, the board would deny the application through a vote. However, he said, the door would be left open to further discussions in the future.
“Modifications can be made to the application, and it can be submitted again,” Ekstrand said. “But after hearing the public speak on the issues that they have with this proposal, plus the fact that the restaurant section will be closed and customer will have no access to the restroom, which may increase public urination… as it stands now, we have to deny the permit for extended hours for McDonalds.”
— Additional reporting by Daniel Offner
