73.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Rehab center plans stalled
Merchants seek more parking spaces
Parking remains the primary issue for Woodmere businesses after the Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals reserved a decision on Nov. 10 on the height and parking variances for the proposed new five-story Woodmere Rehabilitation Center & Health Center on Franklin Place in Woodmere.
Dr. John Santopolo, an endodontist who is president of the Woodmere Merchants Association, but was speaking only on his on behalf as the nearest neighbor to the planned construction, said his patients are already complaining about the lack of parking in the Franklin Place, Broadway and West Broadway area, which he doubts will improve after the construction.
The current rehabilitation center is just north of the proposed new facility on Franklin Place, and has a supplemental building on Irving Place.
“The rehab center needs 225 parking spaces and is only providing 134 spaces,” Santopolo said. “That leaves 90 spaces on the street.”
Robert Eschbacher, an engineer and principal of Hauppauge-based VHB Engineering, spoke as a parking expert at the appeals board hearing, and said he believes there will be adequate parking, because Town of Hempstead code allows parking requirements to be figured in two ways, based on either the area of the building or the number of beds in the facility. The center plans to have 280 beds — 56 fewer than it does now — and one parking space is required for every four beds. According to that formula, 70 spaces would be needed, in addition to 47 for employees, or a total of 117.
If the calculation were based on building size, a total of 225 spaces would be required. But Eschbacher supported the bed-count-based formula, and pointed out that by planning 134 spaces, the center will provide more than are required. “We’re adding more parking and [providing] less beds, ultimately reducing demand and increasing supply,” he said.
Robert Douglas, of Woodmere, whose father is a resident of the center, said he has visited every day since his father was admitted in July 2009 and has never had a problem parking within 150 feet of the facility.
