Social Play Haus presented a franchising plan to the Williston Park Board of Trustees on Monday, Dec. 15.
The franchise, a child-friendly restaurant with a dedicated play area, seeks to open its doors at 46-48 Hillside Ave. Trustees have not yet given approval for a special exception under the village zoning code to operate a restaurant and place of amusement.
The original business owners and the parties opening the new franchise were both present, along with attorneys and a transportation engineer.
“We have two little ones, as you can see,” said Arjelis Sanchez, who hopes to open the new location. He and his wife, Natalie, brought their children, 3 and 5, to the meeting. “We love the concept, my wife and I can have a conversation while the kids play. One third of the space is dedicated to children’s activities.”
Social Play Haus, which opened in Plainview over six years ago, bills itself as a place where parents and children can socialize. “When we started our business, there weren’t a lot of places for families to sustain relationships,” said Jenni Bacayon, who co-founded the location with her husband, Mark. She works as a clinical child psychologist in Manhasset. “We decided to open a place that was really, truly for families,” she said.
The board posed questions regarding parking, business hours and building capacity. The applicants plan to use a nearby municipal lot and street parking, and anticipate peak operating hours between 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The board did not reach a consensus regarding building capacity and will revisit the matter in early January. “I thought they asked a lot of good questions. They really wanted to understand the concept,” said Sanchez. “I think we explained the vision well.”
The board also approved an alteration to the village tax codes. In a unanimous decision, trustees chose to extend tax exemptions to veterans in three categories: non-combat, combat, and wounded. Williston Park has about 170 veterans, a majority of whom fought in the Vietnam War, according to Census data.
“Looking at all of the veteran exemptions that we have on file in the village, it would make an additional tax reduction to the veterans of $12,584 off of property taxes,” said Village Clerk Kristi Romano. This number is based on this year’s tax rates and will change annually based on updated rates.
Trustees also announced that the Winter Gazebo Concert, which was snowed out, will be rescheduled to Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Hillside Ave. and Liberty Ave.
“Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year,” said Mayor Paul Ehrbar, closing the meeting.
