Village Board Rezones Properties Along Cooper Street

The Babylon Village Board unanimously approved the rezoning of several properties along Cooper Street in a move to more genuinely reflect what the properties are used for.

The board held a public hearing on the proposal in May, but no one spoke out against the rezoning of the properties by Joel Sikowitz, the village attorney. The move was to bring the properties, zoned as retail businesses, to a listing known as "residence-O," or for office-use.

The properties whose zoning changed included the International Student Exchange, Babylon Post Office and Gateway Life Center.

Sikowitz noted during the public hearing the village would like to keep those businesses as offices rather than retail due to the lack of parking and foot traffic in the area, which lies outside the village's main business district.

"We've been working on this for six months," Sikowitz told the board during the hearing. "All of these properties have professional offices of some type – attorneys, doctors, etc."

The board had initially held its decision due to lack of public questions, but made the decision final during the June 11 meeting.