While concerns persist in New Hyde Park over a proposed senior day center, the village board welcomed a new fencing school and Vietnamese restaurant when it approved their applications Thursday night.
Preema Jani, the owner of a proposed senior day center at 1300 Jericho Turnpike off of Millers Lane, attempted to resolve community and board concerns over traffic and parking during Thursday’s board meeting. It was the third time her application has been discussed by the board in recent months.
“The board is pretty much on the same page that the intent of having senior adult daycare is a wonderful concept,” New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane said. “The question is the location.”
The proposed day care, called Senior Socials Adult Day Care, would provide seniors with the opportunity to socialize, stay up to date on current events that impact them and engage in mentally stimulating activities, creative outlets and light exercise, like chair yoga. It would run two sessions each day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a maximum of 60 people per session.
Devane said he thought the day care would offer an important service to the community, but was concerned because Millers Lane, the street on which traffic would flow in and out of the day care, was “probably the busiest side street in the village.”
He also questioned whether there would be enough parking spaces for the business. Community members who spoke echoed these concerns, with some from the nearby church voicing anxiety over the day care potentially encroaching on their parking and diminishing the parish’s privacy.
Jani explained that all seniors would arrive and depart the facility via van transport provided by the day care. She said there would be four, 15-person vans and that the day care would only serve seniors within five miles of the village.
Jani said the daycare business would have 13 parking spaces dedicated to it in the adjacent lot, but emphasized that the business would not require much parking, as members would primarily arrive via van.
There was confusion between her and the board regarding the exact locations of those spots and whether there were enough ADA-accessible spots.
One of the owners of the 1300 Jericho Turnpike property came to the meeting to express a desire for Jani, the adjacent church and the village to work together to come to an agreement, adding that he’d be open to helping them all find a solution that worked for everyone.
The trustees elected to close the hearing and reserve their decision, saying they would resolve outstanding confusion with all parties, review submitted information and come to a decision in the coming months. There will not be another public hearing on the matter.
The board then granted Michael Mokretsov approval to open New York Fencing Academy at 914 3rd Ave. He has other locations in Brooklyn and in Port Washington.
Mokretsov’s approval was conditional on his making renovations to the building’s exterior, which Devane said “needed to be cleaned” and described as “red, stained and dirty,” and “like crap, dirty, disgusting,” in its current state. Mokretsov said he would be painting the outside blue, adding a mural, exterior lights and would ensure it is well-maintained.
Afterwards, the board granted Oan Hoan Quan approval to open another location of his Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Hanoi, in the village. He said he currently has a location in the Queens side of New Hyde Park and previously had one in Brooklyn.
His New Hyde Park Village location will be at 1200 Jericho Turnpike.
The next board of trustees meeting is Dec. 18.
