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Mostly Cloudy Citgo plan causes controversy on N. Merrick/N. Bellmore border
Station representatives, residents sit down and work it out at meeting
A proposal to remodel a North Merrick Citgo as a 24-hour self-service gas station and convenience store is causing an uproar among residents, 15 of whom attended a joint meeting of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association and the North Bellmore Civic Association on Aug. 28 to voice their complaints to Kevin O’Brien, the attorney for the station’s owners.
And O’Brien apparently heard their voices loud and clear at the meeting, which was held at the North Merrick Public Library. The day afterward, he told the Herald that the odds of the station becoming a 24-hour business were “probably less than 10 percent.”
The original plan, which is now under review by the Town of Hempstead, called not only for a 24-hour service and convenience store, but also for a canopy over the gasoline pumps. Residents’ complaints about the proposal included the possibility of excessive noise from car stereos at the station, traffic congestion in the busy five-way intersection where it is located and bright lights that might reflect from the canopy into nearby homes.
“We must have a buffer zone,” said Jim Hamilton, a Park Avenue resident for 30 years. The station “is right in our living rooms. The town must come up with standards.”
“There’s too many mini-marts already,” added Doris Buxbaum, who has lived on Carley Court for 48 years. “It’s a residential area. It’s a corner intersection, and it’s extremely busy as it is.”
Town Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilwoman Angie Cullin, who represents Merrick and Bellmore, are reviewing Citgo’s application. But O’Brien said that his goal is to obtain approval for it as fast as possible, which will likely mean agreeing, at least in part, to residents’ demands. “I don’t want to alienate my customer base,” he said. “I’m just trying to get approval, but certainly our position is shifting away from 24 hours.
“The desire is there,” O’Brien continued. “But there comes a point in time when I have to look at reality. It’s more important to be able to operate an upgraded facility for the limited hours of operation than to function the way we are now.”
