BY GARY SIMEONE
roslyn@antonmediagroup.com
The Village of Roslyn Board of Trustees withheld their decision of approving the construction of a retaining wall at the North Bay Service & Diagnostic Center at Tuesday night’s meeting. The board requested that they would like to see a green space plan presented before moving to approve the wall which would help create additional storage space for the vehicles on site. The center is at 1900 Northern Blvd. near the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) overpass.
“I think we would look more favorably on this project if some sort of landscape plan were in place,” said Mayor John Durkin. “If we could maybe soften the project some level to make it palatable for most folks who would see something nice if they were looking at it from the street.”
The project calls for the approval of the construction of a 17-ft. high retaining wall and two 20-ft. high light poles on the building located on Northern Boulevard. The retaining wall would help to support a parking structure that would contain an additional 28 cars parked in tandem at the site.
The lawyer for the applicant, Peter Mineo, said that the retaining wall would help create additional storage for extra vehicles parked at the site.
“It would help to create extra space for Cadillac, Buick and GMC vehicles which will be serviced at the center,” said Mineo. “There will be no sales of any kind at the site.”
Mineo emphasized that the wall would be set back 40 ft. from the property and would be located near the LIRR tracks which run behind the building.
Craig Westergard, a village trustee, was adamant about keeping green space in the area behind the property.
“I understand your client runs a business but some sort of mitigation has to be made that landscaping has to remain,” said Westergard. “It is kind of a no-mans land in the greenbelt below the railroad but in the spring time it looks a lot nicer in that gentle slope area. We need to curtail somewhat this Queensification of Northern Boulevard into Nassau County.”
The applicant has already been before the Village Board of Appeals and was granted two variances on the project. One was for a 10-ft. buffer zone on the property and the other was for a parallel setback requirement for the retaining wall.
The board also approved the renovation of a two-story vacant residential building located at 101 Roosevelt Ave. for the operation of a retail organic food market. The renovation will include the removal of interior walls on site and the addition of a breezeway between the two adjoining buildings.
