The Mineola Board of Trustees unanimously approved a special permit at last Wednesday night’s meeting for a new dance studio on Jericho Turnpike.
Nicole Cettina, who said she’s been a dancer for the past 30 years and a dance teacher for the past 13 years, said she thinks Mineola is the right place to establish a studio where she can teach both children and adults.“I’m very well-versed in the business. I think this community would be a good fit,” Cettina said during a public hearing on March 9 on her application.
Her prospective studio, to be called Love to Dance, will be located at 276 Jericho Tpke. Cettina said she currently teaches dance to children at the East Williston Recreation Center and has a “small following,” which she expects to take classes with her in Mineola. She said she also teaches dance in a studio on the south shore.
Cettina said she plans to hold afternoon and evening classes on weekdays between 3 and 9 p.m. and on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. She said the classes, teaching various dance forms including ballet, will comprise of eight to 10 children in each class, three years old and older, which she will initially teach herself.
“Right now, it’s just going to be me,” said Cettina, a Floral Park resident who grew up in New Hyde Park.
While her primary focus will be on younger students, she said she will also eventually teach evening adult classes in jazz and ballet and may hire another teacher. “I feel that’s not frequently offered around here,” Cettina said.
She said parking on Jericho Turnpike and behind the studio would be adequate for the studio. She said she will have quarters handy for those who need change for the parking meters.
“This was a big factor in considering a location,” she said
The studio will have a waiting room, but she said she expects most parents to drop off their children for classes and then leave. She said other area businesses would be closed during the evening adult classes.
But Chris Hampton, a resident who lives on nearby Wellington Road, expressed concerns about the absence of available parking and traffic in the neighborhood. The father of two small children said he was particularly concerned about daytime traffic on the streets near the studio off Jericho Turnpike.
“Everyone knows how congested Jericho Turnpike can get,” he said, adding that he and his wife often have trouble finding parking.
Hampton said parents would be double-parking while dropping off students for classes, blocking traffic on Jericho and the side streets.
Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss acknowledged drop-offs could take a few minutes rather than a few seconds, but said he didn’t see the traffic issues as a reason to deny the application.
“All in all, it’s better than an empty storefront,” Strauss said.
In response to a question about the volume of music played in the studio, Cettina said she had already spoken to her prospective business neighbors and that she didn’t anticipate a problem.
“I cannot have the music loud because I couldn’t speak over it to teach,” she said.
She said she anticipated making only minor alterations in the building for the studio, including the removal of two walls that bear no weight in the structure. She said the studio would have a wood floor with a protective vinyl coating.
Village attorney John Gibbons said the Nassau County Planning Commission had no issues with the plans for the studio, which enabled the village board to approve the special application at the conclusion of the hearing.
After the hearing, Cettina said she hopes to open the dance studio this summer.
