Jericho-Syosset News Journal (4/27/18)

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Friday, April 27, 2018

Vol. 78, No. 17

Syosset Park plans, impacts debated at school meeting

HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

BY RIKKI N. MASSAND

The Jericho High School Alumni Hall of Fame hosted its 28th Annual Induction Ceremony recently. The Hall of Fame was established to highlight the diversified accomplishments of Jericho High School’s alumni. Above, inductees and student presenters, (left to right) Amanda Leong, Jill Wagner, Alexandra Zakian, Jeffrey Arkin, Amanda Yao, Susan Sturgess, Jang Hun Choi, and Adam Felber. Photo by Denise Nash

Town shuts down Taco Bell proposal

BY GARY SIMEONE It looks like people will have to go elsewhere to get their Taco Bell fix after the Town of Oyster Bay recently rejected a proposal to build a new Taco Bell in Syosset. The Town Board voted unanimously at their April 10th meeting, to reject the proposal to build the new fast food chain establishment at 424 Jericho Turnpike. After receiving a strong backlash from Syosset resi-

dents about the proposal, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said that a Taco Bell at that location would create a dangerous traffic situation and additional noise in the area. “With this already congested area of Jericho Turnpike, residents have serious traffic and pedestrian safety concerns,” said Saladino. “Specifically they reference a potentially dangerous situation related to an increase

in cars entering and exiting the property in an area where three lanes of Jericho turnpike merge into two.” Saladino also cited concerns from residents about an increase of noise from a drive-thru and delivery service and an increase of refuse in the area. “Homeowners bordering the property and in the surrounding residential area, have expressed concerns that See page 6

Syosset Central School District discussed a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Syosset Park project at its monthly meeting on April 17th, and listened to objections raised by concerned residents who attended the school board’s monthly meeting. Residents voiced their objections to more homes being built, higher student enrollment, construction over upcoming years and environmental issues that the project entails. Carrie-Anne Tondo, partner with the school district’s law firm of Ingerman Smith, presented the latest update on the planned mixed-use, 92.8-acre Syosset Park development at the former Cerro Wire site to the nine-member Syosset Board of Education and 60 residents in attendance last Tuesday night. The Syosset High School Auditorium, will be the setting for an upcoming public hearing on Syosset Park at 6PM on Tuesday, May 1. At the public comments at the board of education meeting, many residents of the surrounding communities and greater Nassau County told the school board they plan on speaking up against the project with Town of Oyster Bay officials on hand. Prior to last week Tondo spoke at January’s Syosset Board of Education meeting and at the time she recapped the presentation to the district from Simon Properties that was held in November 2016, which explained the initial stages of plans for Syosset Park. “After that, the board had requested the district’s representative (law firm) and administration gather additional information as it continues with the process to understand what the impact would be to Syosset Schools educational operations and facilities, as a result of the proposed project,” she said. Tondo explained the Town of Oyster Bay’s acceptance of the Syosset Park DEIS on March 27th, starting the public comment period on the 800-plus pages of the report and its appendices. The DEIS’s 60-day public comment period coincides with the May 1st Department of Environmental Resource public hearing right in the middle of it. Tondo then turned her presentation for the board to ‘preliminary findings and focus areas of the Syosset Park proposal that we’re looking into.’ She provided bullet points on the required approvals for the project with the Town of Oyster Bay as lead agency for the FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) plus a zoning change for the mixed-use development’s housing component, as well as master plan and the potential recission of certain restrictive covenants. Like nearly all major developments in the county, Syosset Park would need approvals from the Nassau County Planning Commission and the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A handful of area residents in attendance spoke during public comments See page 6

Syosset Schools consider later start time PAGE 3 Cantiague School holds Game Night PAGE 21


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Jericho-Syosset News Journal (4/27/18) by Litmor Publishing - Issuu