The Village of Floral Park Board of Trustees has introduced a local law that would allow a senior citizen multi-family residence to be constructed within commercial zoning with board approval.
In the board’s Aug. 13 meeting, they unanimously approved holding a public hearing on what would be their third local law of 2025.
If passed, the law would grant the board the ability to issue special-use permits for senior citizen multi-family housing within the village’s commercial and industrial use district. The board said the law would allow senior citizens to live closer to commercial areas in the community.
“Many older adults want the option to stay close to their communities as their needs change, but many of them are unable to do so because of a lack of accessible senior housing options,” said Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald. “Local Law 3 is designed to address this need.”
Currently, the commercial and industrial use district does not permit any type of housing and is full of warehouses, body shops, and laundromats. This new local law would allow the board to vote on constructing senior citizen facilities in the area in the future.
The board will hold a public hearing on this law in its next meeting on Sept. 2 in the Village Hall, welcoming residents to come voice their opinions on this change and learn more about why it is being introduced.
During the meeting’s board reports, the deputy mayor and trustees delivered reports on village activities throughout July.
Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo said the police department remained busy during the hot month, with 700 incidents reported, the highest cause being 181 traffic stops.
Pombonyo praised the village’s law enforcement for its “many success stories,” citing two cases of overnight police stopping the theft from the mailboxes outside the Post Office. According to the deputy mayor, the perpetrators had attempted to steal more than $100,000 in checks and envelopes that were dropped into mailboxes.
“These three arrests have yielded a total of 29 year-to-date arrests in our department,” said Pombonyo. “Our Floral Park Police Department continually displays a high level of leadership, skill and professionalism in their enforcement of crime.”
Fitzgerald said the next meeting will also “hopefully” include a list of which roads will be repaved in the fall and approximate dates when those projects will occur. This coincides with the current efforts to maintain and improve the roads throughout the village.
