The Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees unanimously approved two conditional use permits for businesses to operate in the village at its Wednesday, Feb. 19, meeting.
One was for Yoni’s Kosher Jerky to operate at 6 South Station Plaza, and the other was for Adult Health PLLC to operate at 23 Bond St.
Yonathan Jacobi, the owner of YonisJerky LLC, which he currently operates out of his house, said he wanted to expand his operations with a storefront to process and package meat for retail and wholesale customers
“We just clean meat, process it, and run it through dehydrating machines,” Jacobi said.
Jacobi said he had two years of prior management experience and three years working at a kosher butcher shop, where he learned to make jerky.
Jacobi said he will start with five electric dehydrating machines.
“Slowly but surely, we’ll have to add in some more,” he said.
The owner was joined by his sister, Sarah Jacobi, and father, Sharok Jacobi.
“He’s starting out,” his sister said to the board. “We hope and wish for him to expand and succeed.”
The board approved operating hours from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following morning, with customer-facing hours limited to 8 a.m. to midnight.
Yonathan Jacobi said jerky-making requires hours of uninterrupted processing, which is one reason why he needs to operate so late.
Sharok Jacobi said another reason was that his son had to make deliveries to customers late into the night.
“People call two, three o’clock in the morning, ‘Can I have two jerky?’” Sharok Jacobi said as the board members expressed surprise.
“I think if you taste it, you would fall in love with it,” he responded.
“I should have brought a sample,” the owner said, explaining that if they had tried it, they might have understood.
Commissioner of Public Services Rich Belziti said, “I tried some. It was good,” as he gave a nod of approval.
Mayor Ted Rosen raised concerns about odor and noise from the processing, especially if they were being operated into the late hours of the night.
“The location is fairly close to some residential units, and we’ve had some experience in the past with some strong odors,” Rosen said. “If we determine by complaint or by inspections that there’s a problem with strong odors emanating from the facility, we might very well ask you to come back in here.”
Yonathon Jacobi assured the board that the machines produce little noise or odor.
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The second petition the board heard was from Lena Li Guo, a licensed nurse practitioner who already had a conditional use permit to operate her practice at 45 Middle Neck Road, but asked to move her business to a preferred location at 23 Bond St.
Guo said she plans to operate the business under the same conditions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
The board also unanimously approved a $4,725,689 tax levy for the 2026/2027 fiscal year. The tax rate will be 15.06% of assessed residential property valuation for the north side of the village and 9% for the south side.
The north side has an additional 6.06% for fire protection, which makes up the difference between the two.
An additional 5% will be charged to late taxpayers after the first month, and a further 1% will be charged for every month thereafter.
The board also gave its feedback to the conceptual plans presented at the last board meeting by architectural firm Mojo Stumer Associates to build a 64-unit residential building on the old property of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 68 Grace Ave.
“I’m inclined to be favorable to the proposal they presented to us,” Rosen said, saying the firm was sensitive to the preservation of the church.
“There was quite a lot of discussion on social media,” Rosen said. “It was in the interest of transparency to have this informal presentation out in the public’s eye…we didn’t approve or disapprove anything.”
“I will call up the applicant’s attorney,” Village Counsel Richard Gabreile said. “It looks like it’s a good proposal.”
Rosen assured residents that there will be many hearings in the future.
The board also approved an agreement with IWORKQ Systems Inc. for its parking permit software.
The village signed up for a 2-year subscription with an annual subscription fee of $7,000 and an initial installation fee of $4,500.
The board heard public comments from Jim Connor from Maxwell-Kates, Inc., the property manager for Bond Parc Condominium at 12 Bond St.
Connor came to give updates on security for the building, which is required by village code to have 24/7 coverage.
After one of the building’s security guards stopped working for the condominium, there has been no coverage between midnight and 7 a.m.
“To date, we don’t have a permanent [replacement],” Connor said, but he had two potential candidates.
The mayor said the board would give a month before they needed coverage. “You are making a good faith effort to fill that spot,” Rosen said.
The board also offered official congratulations to Deputy Mayor Pamela Marksheid on becoming a grandmother.
“Whereas, we are advised that young Luke is alert and mellow, a good sleeper and eats well,” Rosen said, reading the declaration aloud. “The Village of Great Neck Plaza hereby extends an official welcome to Luke Steven Marsheid.”
The next board meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 4.
