Island Harvest, a 24-year Mineola cornerstone, finds itself searching for a new Nassau County foodbank headquarters after the relocation approval of a Citibank to a luxury apartment complex on Old Country Road.
“No, we’re not included in [the Citibank relocation],” Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said. “I have something that someone has offered us [in Nassau County], but it’s not locked in yet. Unfortunately, it’s not in Mineola.”
The Mineola Village Board yesterday approved New Hyde Park-based Lalezarian Developers’ permit change, green-lighting Citibank’s relocation to the first floor of 1 3rd Ave. (250 Old Country Rd.) at the site of a 311-unit luxury apartment complex. The bank currently leases the 199 2nd St. property, which will be demolished to make way for Lalezarian’s second residential building approved in May, the 266-unit Village Green.
Island Harvest had served as a subtenant of Citibank, utilizing office space donated by the bank. Citibank did not return calls for comment.
Island Harvest reps said the foodbank has been searching for a new, 3,000-4,000 square-foot Nassau County headquarters since last year. The foodbank, which serves 150,000 hungry people in Nassau County each year, houses its main headquarters in Hauppauge and warehouse space at the Uniondale-based Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility.
Shubin Dresner commended Citibank’s help, noting they’ve covered utility costs along with providing the office space.
“They have been very generous to us,” Shubin Dresner said. “[The Mineola office] had been the most important thing to happen to Island Harvest since our founding. It saved us a tremendous amount of funds that went right to programs and services that help the hungry. It enabled us to develop a strong partnership with Citibank.”
Garden City residents of the Cherry Valley co-op apartments across from 1 3rd Ave. criticized the bank’s move citing parking concerns, traffic congestion and safety on West Street, which runs north towards the apartment complex. Lalezarian did return calls for comment.
“It’s my understanding that Citibank has taken upon themselves to work on [Island Harvest’s] relocation,” Lalezarian said at the final public hearing on the Village Green in May. “We don’t have a lease or any agreement with Island Harvest of any kind.”
Lalezarian will remove four apartments from 1 3rd Ave. (the original plan called for 315 units) to account for the bank’s relocation, along with a new coffee shop. Twenty-five residential parking spots would also be eliminated. Lalezarian said earlier this month that he expects the move to take three to four months.
“We want to stay in Mineola,” Shubin Dresner said. “I want that clear. But wherever we are, we will continue to serve Nassau County.”
