Residents: Mayfair Expansion Too Close For Comfort

Commack residents say plans to expand Mayfair Shopping Center are bringing the shopping experienced close to home, too close for comfort. 

Levin Management presented plans to build a , adjacent to the Bagel Boss, to the Smithtown Planning Board on Wednesday night. The company is seeking permits to have the expansion approved for a potential restaurant use. 

"We have voted unanimously to oppose this as we don't feel anyone's quality of life will be improved by another restaurant," said Bruce Ettenberg, president of the Commack Community association. 

Residents' complaints largely stem from the fact the restaurant expansion, if built, would be only 50-feet from the nearest residential home on Verbena Drive. 

"The bottom line for me is restaurant is too close to the residential area," said Lynn Stein. "I enjoy the shopping center, but you can’t put a restaurant 50-feet from someone’s house. I like to go out to eat, but it can’t be done. You have to say no because it’s not fair to the homes."

Stein and her neighbors living on Verbena and Magnolia Drive in Commack complained of heavy traffic and safety issues, with a rat infestation and garbage overflowing from the Mayfair Shopping Center onto residential streets. They said that they fear an expansion could worsen these problems. 

"Traffic will increase signficantly through the entrance on Verbana Drive and with parking space being removed, cars will be parking in front of our home more frequently than they already do," said Tina Toomey, of Commack. 

The last full traffic study of the shopping center was performing in 1998, when Levin Management first filed plans to expand Mayfair Shopping Center. Residents say traffic on Jericho Turnpike has increased since then, and asked the planning board to call for a new study.

However, Smithtown Planning Director Frank DeRubeis said he calculated updated trip generation counts show roughly 11,000 trips on an average Saturday, with the proposed expansion only expected to generate up to 200 additional trips. He said the increase is not signficiant. 

Residents also argued there's already not enough parking spaces for existing eateries, creating increased traffic from customers who park on residential streets and allegedly ignore posted stop signs. 

Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance Jan. 22 to allow Levin Management to reduce required number of parking spaces from 1,667 to 1,586. 

Guardino said Levin Management has offered to install of several traffic calming measures, including several speed humps, additional stop signs and forcing access to the road behind the shopping center to become 90-degree turn with the expansion. 

However, these proposed traffic flow changes raised concerns for DeRubeis. He asked for time to re-evaluate if the 25-feet between the back of the proposed restaurant expansion and the landscapped buffer in front of residential homes would be enough for trucks to safely navigate the turn, requesting additional information from Levin Management. 

Commack resident George Gibbons said he opposes the proposed expansion as the neighborhood already has a rat infestations due to the shopping center.

"I've had to hire an exterminator and I am paying a monthly fee because of the rats. Their dumpster in the back isn't properly secured," Gibbons said. 

Anthony Guardino, an attorney representing Levin Management, said he's provided testimony from an engineer to the town stating the shopping center's dumpster is more than large enough to handle the expected trash.

DeRubeis said he could have town planners look over the shopping center's site plans, and see if there might be other spots or location the dumpster could be relocated to that would cause less problems. 

Other issues and complaints included Mayfair being a local gathering spot for teens who engaging in underage drinking, drug use, drag racing and other illegal activities after dark due to its lack of security. 

Guardino encouraged residents with issues to reach out to Levin Management, who would be willing to work with them to solve them, or reach out to the town's Public Safety Department. 

Smithtown Planning Board reserved a decision on the proposed Mayfair expansion until a later date.