Island Park is getting its own grocery store.
By AMANDA HOFFMANN November 28, 2008
King Kullen, a family-owned supermarket chain that has 49 stores on Long Island and Staten Island, signed a long-term lease in late September to open a store in the Barnum Island section of Island Park.
The proposed 67,500-square-foot retail center, which includes King Kullen and several smaller stores, would replace an auto body shop, a warehouse, a junkyard and an empty lot bordered by Beach Avenue and Waterfront Boulevard.
“I would hope the project is up and running in two years,” said John Vitale, who owns the six-acre site and is the principal of Barnum Land Development LLC. Vitale also owns the Bridgeview nightclub and catering hall, directly across Waterfront Boulevard from the proposed retail center, and nearby restaurants Paddy McGees and Coyote Grill.
“It’s very important to me that the shopping center keeps up with the look and the standards of Bridgeview,” Vitale said. “I want this to blend in and feel like you are in a nautical village, kind of like the Hamptons, with that New England village type of feel.”
Vitale said the retail center would have a “park-like setting” where shoppers could enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while they unwind and enjoy the view of Reynolds Channel.
“It’s on the water – people can stop and walk and enjoy it, and I think that will be a strong attraction to shoppers in choosing to come down here to Island Park,” Vitale said.
But according to residents of the Yacht Club, a 128-unit condominium complex in the heart of the industrial zone, shoppers would add to traffic congestion during the summer months, when activity at local bars and restaurants is in full swing. “We are very concerned about the density and with being mobbed by people and cars,” said John Cestaro, a member of the Yacht Club’s board of managers. “We’re mobbed now, and that’s without a King Kullen.”
Cestaro said that residents of the condominiums are worried about noise from grocery delivery trucks and other aspects of doing business in the area, like accumulating trash. “There is also the problem of dumpsters and rats,” Cestaro said. “We are not looking for those kinds of problems here.”
Nearby properties, including the proposed site, are zoned for commercial, light industrial, manufacturing and marina/waterfront use. The condominium complex is itself the result of a mid-1980s zoning change: It was once a seaplane landing and storage facility. When the condos were built, business owners voiced concerns about how residences would fare in an industrial area. And industry isn’t going away, Vitale said, despite rumors to the contrary. “There are no plans to convert my property to condominiums,” he said. “The only rumor that is true is that I’m putting in a beautiful shopping center.”
In 2004, the Yacht Club opposed Vitale’s plan to build a small amusement park, featuring bumper cars and miniature golf, on the site. At the time, residents argued against the proposal because of traffic congestion. It was given a green light by the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals, but Vitale held off because, he said, he wanted to find a project that would be a better fit with his neighbors.
Residents of the Yacht Club don’t like the idea of a King Kullen any better. “We are definitely going to fight him again,” said Harvey Weinberg, president of the complex’s board of directors. “We’ll do the same thing again if we have to.”
“[King Kullen] has more broad-based community support than the amusement park did,” Vitale said. “People are very excited about a store like this close to home. Island Park doesn’t have a grocery store.”
Island Park Chamber of Commerce President Barbra Rubin said the King Kullen is a “win-win” for the community because it will bring not only more retail stores, but jobs to the community. “We have a lot of service businesses behind closed doors, and I’d like to have more retail-based businesses,” Rubin said. “Having a King Kullen here would help with that. A lot of people don’t realize Island Park is a community, not just an access to Long Beach.”
Just the same, Rubin said, the chamber has reservations about the traffic from Austin Boulevard feeding into Barnum Island. “We can foresee some traffic problems,” she said. “The chamber has been really active trying to deal with that problem.”
The chamber was pivotal in the effort to increase the pedestrian crossing time on Austin Boulevard, after inviting Nassau County officials to attempt to cross the road themselves. But residents who don’t drive may have problems getting across the street with grocery carts, Rubin said, because there still isn’t enough crossing time.
She added that the project would bring more variety of businesses to Island Park, and that it will be convenient to have a grocer in town. “Myself, I am looking forward to having King Kullen nearby, without having to go to Long Beach or Oceanside,” Rubin said. “Having a King Kullen here will draw people, and people will say, hopefully, ‘I’m going to Island Park’ – not Oceanside or Long Beach.”
Vitale said he believes the proposed retail center would provide an important boost to the economy in the face of the recent downturn. “Building something like this, during these times, shows a lot of faith in the country and the economy,” he said. “We continue to believe this will be good for the area. If people become too cautious and pull projects like this one, the overall economy will keep deteriorating.” Comments about this story? AHoffmann@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 269.
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You can make a bridge to walk over Austin Blvd. This would be a very safe way to walk across a very busy intersection.