Why are Rockville Centre residents voicing opposition to a proposed medical facility?

Plans for the development of a new three-story medical facility along Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre has sparked interest of United Healthcare, however, many residents are concerned about the project’s overall impact.

John Farrell, a partner at the law firm Sahn, Ward, Braff and Coschignano, addressed the Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 14 on behalf of The Reiffman Group, a Long Island real estate management company that owns and leases three office buildings in Rockville Centre, seeking a zero-foot setback along Sunrise Highway and a substantial occupancy permit.

During the presentation, Farrell displayed a series of amended site designs, which he said would reduce the size of the initial project by more than 20 percent.

“As the board knows, the existing buildings on the subject property are old and outdated, and as such, they are not desirable to the tenants,” Farrell said. “They are in desperate need of a scrape and rebuild.”

The revised proposal seeks to replace the existing retail space between Leonardo’s Furniture at 500 Sunrise Highway and the Flour Shoppe Bakery at 486 Sunrise Highway with a 42,000-square-foot medical facility that includes a tiered parking structure with 291 on-site parking spaces.

“We think it’s going to be an improvement to the community,” Farrell said. “It’s going to increase the tax base for the Village of Rockville Centre, and it’s going to bring foot traffic for local businesses.”

Dozens of residents crowded into the courtroom at Village Hall last week to voice their apprehension of the proposal.

Colleen McSparron, who has lived on North Kensington Avenue for nearly 25 years, said she was notified of the proposal because her property is within 200 feet of the proposed site.

“This project will be detrimental to the area,” McSparron told the board. “It will alter the essential character of Rockville Centre, potentially lowering property values in the surrounding community.”

She added that if the development goes through, it could put both Minuteman Press and the Flour Shoppe Bakery out of business, and the GMC dealership’s service center would likely also be impacted by the construction. Residents stood up one by one to express a range of concerns, including traffic, congestion, parking, density, public safety, and environmental impact.

Ruth McNulty, who lives on Vincent Street near the site, said she is worried about the substantial occupancy permit as it pertains to how cars will enter and exit the proposed parking structure.

“I do not know how these hundreds of cars are going to get in and out on the tiny Montauk Avenue and Ongley Street,” McNulty said.

Ann Marie Duskiewicz said that while she was somewhat relieved to hear that the developers made some changes regarding parking, she was still concerned about the impact on local traffic.

“My concern is that traffic will still slow on Sunrise Highway turning onto Montauk, causing a backup,” Duskiewicz said. “I’m also concerned about people coming out onto Montauk and backing up local traffic trying to get onto Sunrise.”

During the meeting, Rockville Centre resident Susan Jacobs presented statistics on parking garages and parking lots. “The FBI, in a 2022 study, found that parking garages are the third most common location for violent crimes,” Jacobs said.

However, not everyone at the meeting opposed the proposal. Anna Hanrahan, a third-generation Rockville Centre resident, said she is familiar with the area’s traffic issues but trusts the village to protect what needs to be protected while improving what needs to be improved.

“I just want to actually thank everyone because it seems like the whole project improved,” she said. “It seems like Rockville Centre really worked hard. We all know that parking is a huge hassle in this town.”

In addition to residents, some local business and property owners affected by the project spoke in support of the development.

Jason Greenberg, the owner of the property at 486 Sunrise Highway, said that for the last seven years, he has taken pride in being a responsible owner and a member of the community. However, like many others, he faced the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The demand for general office space has drastically decreased in the town, leaving us with extremely high vacancy rates and rising operational costs,” Greenberg said. “It’s clear to us that the landscape has changed, and so too must the use of this building.”

Initially, the developers planned to build a 55,400-square-foot facility, but the design fell short of the 368 parking spaces required by code.

In a letter to neighbors before the Zoning Board meeting, Ross Reiffman, a principal of The Reiffman Group detailed plans to scale back the project to meet the required specifications.

“After listening to your feedback and concerns, we have made significant changes to our design,” Reiffman stated in the letter. “The building remains three stories tall at 36 feet. Instead of the original parking plan, we have incorporated a parking deck that provides 291 on-site spaces, a 57.3 percent increase from our prior design.”

Many argued, however, that the amended proposal was scaled back to comply with code requirements, not in response to local feedback, as stated in the letter.

“What they’ve done, as you can see on the plans, is squeeze every inch for parking spaces and medical offices only to seem like they are in compliance with the code and to gain the board’s approval,” McSparron said. “This is smoke and mirrors, using air space to meet the code requirement for parking.”

Following public comment, the Zoning Board closed the case, which will be voted on in a public work session at the next meeting on Sept. 11.