The vacant gas station site at 70 East Jericho Tpke. in Mineola will be revived by Hidir Yildiz after gaining approval from the Mineola Village Board in January. Yildiz plans to open Ultra Gas, with an eight-pump station and a convenience store in May. He currently owns gas stations in Baldwin, Franklin Square, Garden City, New Hyde Park, Uniondale and Valley Stream.
“I’m very excited,” Yildiz said. “This will be great for that area to have a gas station.”
Yildiz originally planned to operate on a 24-hour schedule, but restructured working hours to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days per week.
“He wants to restore an existing and unoccupied service station,” said Matthew White, Yildiz’s co-legal counsel. “Also, to install new fuel pumps and a canopy.”
The site had been subject to environmental issues dating back to 2006. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation investigated the site and in 2012, when remedial work began, according to Yildiz’s legal counsel rep Kevin Walsh.
“Inspections have been done,” Walsh said. “It’s all clean.”
Yildiz’s project called for interactive TVs and speakers installed with each pump at the station, but the village board balked at the idea. He decided to nix that aspect.
“I’m afraid that would cause concerns for residents living right behind there,” Mayor Scott Strauss said.
Yildiz said he would consider housing a power generator on site to combat power outages. The gas owner will build plantings and shrubbery to dress up the location.
“The facelift [Yildiz] is planning on giving the site will be a benefit,” Deputy Mayor Paul Pereira said.
