Floral Park’s Board of Trustees closed the public hearing for the Stella-Cerrone proposal for a special use permit allowing below-grade parking at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The board will now consider public comment, board inquiries, engineering reports and the permit application, and will hold a vote for approval in the coming months. The board is currently deciding only whether to grant a special use permit for underground parking; further details of the proposal will be subject to future hearings and decisions.
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said the board has hired H2M Engineering and Architecture to review the proposal’s traffic study and Islandwide Engineering to evaluate the proposal.
“It could be 60 days, it could be longer,” said John E. Ryan, special counsel for the village, adding that the timeline is dependent on those evaluations.
Residents offered public comment to the board regarding the highly contested, five-story, 154-unit apartment complex proposal on Jericho Turnpike.
“I feel like Floral Park is turning into Queens,” one resident said. “I don’t want to pay Floral Park taxes if I’m going to live in Queens.”
“Keep your residents in mind, we elect you to have our backs, to take care of us. We’re trusting you with our homes,” another resident said. “You’ve heard all of us, you’ve heard our complaints. I just ask that you keep that in mind.”
Fitzgerald said that, since the matter the board is currently considering is a special-use permit for parking, the village can place conditions on approval, just as it would with a special use permit for a business.
The board also approved numerous resolutions on financial and administrative matters.
Members voted to acknowledge the filing of the 2026/2027 tentative assessment roll, in preparation for the village’s “tax grievance night,” at the Feb.17 board meeting.
“There’s a new roll every year,” said Mike Derby, the village’s assessor, adding that the state provides a residential assessment ratio, which local governments use to determine market value. “That’s what people are going to be challenging, their market value. Home sales in the area for similarly sized houses in the area, that’s what they’ll be looking for.”
Trustees accepted resignations, some for retirement, and voted to pay out employees for accrued vacation, sickness, and personal days, totalling over $118,000.
The board voted to appoint John Ryan to the position of assistant prosecutor for the village, with his term expiring on April 3 of this year.
“I’m very excited. I grew up in Floral Park. I went to OLV, down the road,” Ryan said. “It is going to be a great opportunity to give back to the town a little bit. I’m looking forward to it.”
