Valley Stream considers temporary ban on select shops

The Valley Stream Board of Trustees will continue discussion on a moratorium on certain businesses at its monthly work session in August.

The moratorium, which would include a one-year halt on 99 cent stores, nail salons, foot/massage parlors, pizza and Chinese food restaurants from entering the village, was tabled at the board’s July 7 work session.

Mayor Ed Fare said that there are many schools of thought on the topic. The first is that the village is already too saturated with these types of businesses.

Along the same lines, he said, businesses that enter the village similar to these are not bringing anything new or different to Valley Stream. Also, Fare said, there have been illegal activities found at some of the nail salons and massage parlors in the village.

On the opposite side of the debate, similar stores opening up in the same area brings about competition, which Fare said is a good thing for a free-market capitalist economy. “This isn’t Communist Russia, this a democracy, this is capitalism,” he said. “Just because you don’t like [these stores] doesn’t mean that you can shut them down.”

Fare said that when Verizon Fios became available in the village a few years ago, Cablevision’s service increased because of the competition. Fare added that Trustee Dermond Thomas, in preliminary discussion, said that his wife frequents a nail salon and that he feels that more salons bring more competition, which allows customers to receive better service at a better price.

Fare said that there are five 7-Elevens in Valley Stream, but they are all still in business, prompting Fare to ask himself “If they are staying in business, who are we to limit them?”

The “double-edged sword” of these shops has become a concern in the village, Fare said, and that is why a moratorium is being discussed. Fare said that this would be the “safest and best way” for the village to evaluate the saturation of these businesses in Valley Stream.

“We’re not saying ‘no,’” Fare said. “We’re saying, ‘Let us evaluate this and let us figure it out.’”

Nic Super, of Valley Stream, said that he thinks there are too many nail salons that are too close to one another.

“It seems like as soon as one closes down, another opens up,” he said. “I’m glad there are successful businesses, but there seems to be too many for all of them to succeed.”

According to yellowpages.com, there are 21 nail salons or beauty parlors in the 11580 zip code, 12 of which are located on or near Rockaway Avenue.

Donna Lamanna, a resident of Valley Stream, said that the number of salons on Rockaway Avenue is a lot, but said that she rarely sees them empty. Lamanna, who said she is a monthly visitor to a salon, said she would rather see businesses that are open than vacant storefronts.

Fare said this discussion has much to do with the revitalization of the downtown area in Valley Stream, and that too many of these stores might not be the best for the board’s vision of the village.

The board will continue its discussion and debate over this topic in August. Then, if the board plans to move forward with the moratorium, they will discuss the topic at the next board meeting.