Take Action: Clean Up Baldwin’s Downtown
For the last ten years, the property of the former Conway Motors dealership on Sunrise Highway across from the LIRR station has been a giant auto storage lot. The lot is unsightly and poorly kept, and it blocks the site from being used more productively.
The Baldwin Civic Association has formally requested that the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) revoke the variance that permits this use. Your help making the case to the ZBA is needed.
In March 2017, the property owner, JS Sunrise Realty, requested a variance from the ZBA to continue to use the site for storing vehicles. The owner’s attorney claimed then that an application to build an auto dealership on the site would be forthcoming.
Over the objections of the BCA and a number of individual residents, the ZBA granted the variance for two years—until May 2019—but attached five conditions to address neighborhood complaints:
Installing lighting to improve visibility
Hiring a service to maintain the appearance of the property
Maintaining the fencing surrounding the property
Paving the property
Installing drainage to protect the underground aquifer
The owner has met—in a minimal way—only the first two conditions. As for the others, the fencing is ragged and torn, the lot is unpaved, and potentially contaminated runoff continues to seep into the ground. The owner also does not regularly maintain the sidewalks during the winter, meaning pedestrians must walk in the driving lanes of Harrison Avenue and Sunrise Highway through this busy intersection. Adding to the congestion, massive auto haulers deliver or pick up autos almost every day, parking on Harrison Avenue and creating a sightline hazard for motorists turning onto Harrison or entering Dunkin Donuts.
The property is unsightly and hinders our ability to market Baldwin as attractive to develop downtown properties. Its presence depresses property values of neighboring homes and businesses. The Town has issued fines against the owner for the violations, but the fines have not resulted in compliance.
The variance expired in May, but the condition of the property has remained the same. That is why the BCA has requested and has been granted a re-hearing before the Zoning Board for the purpose of revoking the variance and forcing the owner to move its autos to a more suitable location.
How You Can Help
The ZBA has scheduled the re-hearing for Wednesday, December 4 during its 2:00 pm session at the Hempstead Town Hall Pavilion, 1 Washington Street, Hempstead, NY 11550. You can make your opinion known to the Zoning Board in three ways:
Attend the hearing and sign up to speak briefly about your concerns.
Write a letter to the Zoning Board at the above address to express your concerns.
Submit your comments to the Zoning Board online at this site: https://hempsteadny.gov/board-of-appeals/hearings-comment-form.
Following is a brief draft from which you can cut and paste details into your own comments to the Zoning Board. (You can use details from the foregoing discussion in your message, too.) After you have sent your message to the Zoning Board, please send a copy to the BCA at [email protected] or PO Box 833, Baldwin, NY 11510 so we know how many people responded.
For the benefit of our community, please make your views heard! Through shared action, we can make a difference!
Draft Letter
David Weiss, Chairman
Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals
1 Washington Avenue
Hempstead, New York 11550
Applicant: JS Sunrise Realty, LLC
Case #: 249-250/17
Hearing Date: 12/04/2019
Case Location: Baldwin—Sunrise Highway and Harrison Avenue
Dear Mr. Weiss,
I am writing to urge the Zoning Board to terminate the variance granted to the auto storage yard at the corner of Sunrise Highway and Harrison Avenue in Baldwin. This eyesore in the middle of our hamlet is detrimental to the neighborhood and to our prospects for improving the downtown.
Furthermore, the current owner is violating the conditions that the Zoning Board assigned to it in 2017. The existing variance has expired. We urge you to discontinue the property’s use as an auto storage yard, either by the existing owner or any future owner or renter.
[Add your own comments here]
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]