By Stephanie Petrellese

A proposed nine-story condominium project at 250 Old Country Road has some Mineola residents seeing green-and a group of Garden City residents, particularly those in the Cherry Valley Co-operative Apartments, seeing red.

The condominium project would replace an office building currently on the site, which is located in Mineola less than 300 feet away from the Garden City border. The project is expected to generate $377,000 in real estate taxes for the Village of Mineola, and $1.9 million in school taxes for the Mineola School District.

The condos will be set back 10 feet from the road and measure 88 feet high, with an additional penthouse that would be set back from the façade but add 18 more feet to the building's height. The proposed floor-area-ratio will be 6.01, meaning the building will be more than six times as large as the property on which it is situated. The property is 57,504 square feet (or 1.32 acres) and the proposed building will measure 345,867 square feet.

To compare, the Winston, a nine-story condominium complex being planned just a few blocks east on the north side of Old Country Road for the two acre parcel between Willis Avenue and Main Street, has a floor-area-ratio of 5.13 with 285 units.

The proposal for 250 Old Country Road calls for 257 units: 63 one-bedroom, 184 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units, ranging in size from 724 sq. ft. to 1,767 sq. ft. The project, which will also include a 24-hour concierge, fitness center and rooftop terraces, would be marketed toward young professionals and senior citizens. The 397 parking spaces would be provided in a four-story, below-grade parking garage.

According to published reports, Garden City resident and attorney Kevin Walsh, who is representing developers Michael Yeroush and Robert Kohan, believes the project will "breathe life into the area." His clients are under contract to buy the existing building from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The developers will have to seek a variance since the property is currently zoned in the B-3 district, which means a building cannot be taller than three stories or more than 130,494 square feet. If a variance is approved by the Mineola Board, it will be the third project to move forward under the village's Development Incentive Bonus Law. The law was designed to encourage development in Mineola's overlay district by allowing developers to have their variance applications heard before Mineola's Board of Trustees instead of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Michael D. Filippon, Garden City's superintendent of buildings, explained that under county law, the developers will be required to have their subdivision application approved by the Garden City Planning Commission because the building is within 300 feet of the Village. He emphasized that the planning commission does not have any authority to stop the project from being built; its role is to solely focus on "typical subdivision issues" such as drainage and traffic. The developer has not yet filed an application with the commission.

Several Garden City officials and residents voiced their disapproval of the project at a May 20th public hearing before Mineola's Board of Trustees. Among the Garden City attendees were Deputy Mayor Donald Brudie, Trustee Andrew Cavanaugh, Central Property Owners' Association President Patricia DiMattia, Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Robert Cunningham, CPOA secretary Patricia Cunningham, and Thomas Trypuc, a member of the board of directors of the Cherry Valley Co-operative Apartments.

When contacted by The Garden City News after the hearing, Thomas Trypuc said he is personally against the project because of the high levels of dirt and noise that would be created by demolition of the existing building. He is also concerned about disruption to electric and water service during demolition and construction. Traffic will be increased in an already busy area once the building is complete, he added.

Trypuc said he is not surprised that most Mineola residents applaud the project because it is located in a predominantly commercial area. He said the residents from Garden City who attended were given a frosty reception by a few of the Mineola residents who were present at the meeting.

At the May 21st Garden City Board of Trustees meeting, Deputy Mayor Donald Brudie also said some Mineola residents were unhappy with their presence. "We're kind of persona non grata with the residents of Mineola. They feel we should keep our noses in Garden City, and they'll keep their noses in Mineola."

Deputy Mayor Brudie emphasized that the friction was felt with residents, and not the Mineola Board of Trustees. "This was the residents, not the Board," he said. "The Board was very gentlemanly and treated us very kind, very nicely, very professional. It's the residents who don't understand the situation that we're within 300 feet of this development and that we have a right to be there under the law....It's the residents who really were not to up on what was going on, other than they saw big dollars."

Deputy Mayor Brudie said some Mineola residents argued that they did not oppose renovation of the former Saks Fifth Avenue building at 1300 Franklin Avenue. Brudie said the renovation, which made exterior changes but did not add much square footage, is located more than 300 feet from the Mineola border. He said he asked residents at the public hearing how they would feel if the roles were reversed, and Garden City was planning to erect a nine-story building across the street from a residential neighborhood in Mineola.

Garden City Mayor Robert J. Rothschild expressed concern about the tension between the two sides. "I don't like hearing that people don't think Garden City is a good neighbor," he said at the May 21st Garden City Board meeting. "I think it's not something that we want people to be thinking about us, and us thinking about anyone else. So hopefully we can mend fences and get something out of it. As one of the trustees said, this building is probably going to be built, but can we do something down the road to lessen the effect on Village residents?" He added that is how the Board will have to move forward regarding this project, and "anything else that impinges on our boundaries and borders."

Trustee Cavanaugh said at the Garden City Board meeting that he is concerned about the bulk and mass of the project. His focus is on maintaining the character of Cherry Valley.

When contacted by The Garden City News, Garden City ZBA Chairman Robert Cunningham added that he did not have much information on the project and was disappointed that a handout with project details was not provided at the hearing. He understands Mineola's desire to revitalize their downtown and generally supports the project, with the exception of the building's proposed nine-story height. He is also concerned about possible traffic delays that may be caused along Old Country Road during construction.

CPOA President Patricia DiMattia told The Garden City News that at its May 12th meeting, the CPOA board passed a resolution in opposition to the project's scope. The board also requested that the project be reviewed as to its suitability in terms of its density and impact on the surrounding neighborhood, traffic and the environment.

"Although we approved this resolution, as president of the CPOA, I want to stress that we are not opposed to the development of the site in conjunction with Mineola's overall revitalization plans, but we do have some concerns on behalf of the Garden City residents in the Cherry Valley Apartments," she said via e-mail. "Further, we were very encouraged and pleased that Mineola Mayor Jack Martins and the Mineola Board of Trustees were receptive to our comments at their meeting on May 20 and have agreed to meet with the CVA board, Deputy Mayor Brudie and perhaps with Mayor Rothschild as well."