Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston
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Friday, June 28, 2019
Vol. 94, No. 26
HEALTH & WELLNESS
DRIVER STRIKES WOMAN IN PLAZA
SEEKING ANSWERS TO BUSINESS REVITALIZATION
PAGES 31-42
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PAGE 6
Plaza officials OK 9-month moratorium
SWEET VICTORY
No permits for new buildings with 3 or more residential units BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN Great Neck Plaza trustees voted to implement a nine-month moratorium on developments with three or more residential units last Wednesday night in hopes of studying the impact of recent projects and potentially making zoning code tweaks. In approving the moratorium by a 4-0 vote, trustees moved to overrule a recommendation from the Nassau County Planning Commission, which suggested a sixmonth moratorium paired with an option to extend the moratorium another six months. Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender, who pushed for the ninemonth time frame, said six months wasn’t long enough to conduct a comprehensive review and figure out zoning code fixes, but that officials wanted to get it done quickly. “We think the answer lies in
looking at our zoning and tweaking it a bit,” Celender said. “We certainly don’t want it to take a long time to do, but we do want that opportunity to do it without other applications coming in.” Stephen Fein, a Great Neck Plaza resident and president of the 58 Grace Ave. co-op, said he thinks parking is – and will continue to be – a major issue. “Our parking situation is not going to get better and quite frankly, that’s why we’re here because we’re already strangled,” Fein said. Leonard Katz, a Great Neck Plaza resident, asked why a moratorium would be needed if, with each individual project that the board approved, traffic studies gauging their impact and other requirements were already done. Trustee Lawrence Katz said those were “simple studies” and that this review would look at the actual impacts now that developContinued on Page 12
PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN
Member of the class of 2019 at the Great Neck schools celebrated moving onto the next chapters of their lives at their respective commencement ceremonies on Monday and Tuesday. See stories and photos on pages 22-24.
Great Neck youths show off talent at first JuneFest BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
Hundreds flocked to the inaugural festival on Grace Avenue, where a variety of Children were center stage groups put on performances. In at the first ever JuneFest in addition to these shows, people Great Neck Plaza on a sunny could play games for prizes, Sunday afternoon, showcasing enjoy carnival rides, indulge in their skills in art, music, danc- ice cream or dare to climb the blow-up “Rocky Mountain.” ing and martial arts.
Ron Edelson, executive director of the Great Neck Plaza Business Improvement District, which put on the festival, said the goal was to attract members of the community and “give them a good time together.” Continued on Page 58
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