More than 12 Mineola businesses were summonsed by the village’s building department for not removing snow from the sidewalks of properties, Mineola village officials announced.
“Businesses that have not been cooperating are repeat offenders,” Building Superintendent Dan Whalen said. “We’ve already summonsed them. In some cases, there were feeble attempts made.”
Whalen says snow removal is written into most agreements made with potential business owners to combat plowing issues and car displacement in Mineola.
“We give them a warning and tell them we’ll be back,” he said. “Some attempts are made, mostly none.”
Pedestrian safety is of concern.
“We’re not looking to chop anybody’s head off,” Mayor Scott Strauss said. “Certainly with businesses, we hope they stay in Mineola but they need to do the right thing. We can’t have pedestrians walking in Jericho Turnpike because of snow. It’s [the businesses] option. They can shovel or not.”
The former Entenmann’s Bakery Outlet property, which will give way to a Walgreen’s after the Mineola Village Board approved a plan to raze the building, was summonsed twice, Whalen said. He is still waiting for asbestos reports, construction and demolition plans from developer Marc Steinberg of Mark Development. The developer did not return calls for comment.
“[One owner] is on his way to Florida and the other is on the way to Maine,” Whalen said. “As far as the building itself is concerned, I’ve made repeated attempts with engineers who are handling the project and I’ve given them a litany of things that we need to help move the project along.”
Whalen said part of the building’s roof needs was removed because of snowstorm’s Juno and Linus that rocked Mineola recently.
“We had a considerable part of the roof structure that was made up of asbestos material that had to be removed,” he said. “While it may not be a deluge of water, you can see from the inside that it is getting into the building. It would’ve been part of the removal of the asbestos if everything would just take its natural course and get the building down.”
The Walgreen’s plan to move across the street from its current Jericho Turnpike location was approved by the village board in June 2014. The proposed 14,518 square foot facility will house a 24-hour prescription drive-thru.
Two driveways would be built along Jericho Turnpike, with an exit point on Roslyn Road, the decision said. The parking lot would house 71 parking spots and three handicapped spaces.
Road openings north of the site on Arlington Street will be enclosed with a fence. Previously, cars could access the street.
