Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire

Back in 2010 a  proposal to place a QuickChek in Bardonia was met with much resistance from the residents. After nearly two years of effort the proposal was defeated by the Residents Association of Bardonia. 

At the May 22, 2013 meeting of the Clarkstown Planning Board the developer Eric Bergstol was joined by his architects and attorney to explain his latest proposed development.  The following are the detailed minutes that I recorded of this meeting.

The main points of the presentation were as follows:

The application to place a QuickChek on the site has been withdrawn and has been replaced with an application to build a CVS pharmacy similar in appearance to the one on North Middletown Road in Pearl River but a little bigger. 

Four lots presently occupied by the Getty gas station, the bank, the Bardonia mall, and the old railway station which now is a multi-family dwelling, will be combined into a single lot.  Six entrances to the site will be consolidated to two. On the lot a single building CVS pharmacy with a drive-thru is proposed to be built.  It is a use that does not require zoning changes or variances.  The only approvals that are required from the Planning Board are the preliminary and final site plan approvals and Architecture and Landscape approval for the landscaping.  Hence the planning board must concentrate on the health, safety and welfare issues of the proposal as these pertain to traffic patterns, traffic volume, the safety of the children at the elementary school, light from 24/7 operation shining into local homes, etc.   

The site plan engineer stated that the lot is 75,000 sq feet and that the CVS Pharmacy would be a single building having a footprint of 12,900 sq. ft. and would have a mezzanine with office and storage space bringing the building footprint up to just under 15,000 sq. ft. There would be a drive-thru at the rear of the building (on the elementary school side of the lot) with one-way circulation in a counter-clockwise manner. The parking field would be at the front (304 side) and would have two way 24 foot driveways with perpendicular parking both facing 304 and facing the pharmacy throughout the entire frontage of the store.

This is a situation that will not add to the aesthetics of the proposed development.  One planning board member referred to it looking like a "sea of cars".  The proposed use will not be able to accommodate the number of trees required by the Town for a lot of this size.   The CVS is basically identical to the one in Pearl River and will have a corner entry. All the loading and trash compactors will be at the back of the store on the side facing the elementary school. The loading operations, trash pick up etc will also occur at this side. There will be a total of 73 parking spaces which meets the zoning ordinance. CVS requires 60 - 65 spaces. 

There will only be two entrances and exits to the site.   On Bardonia Road the entrance will be adjacent to the school driveway.  It will be right enter only and right exit only.  What this means is that traveling up Bardonia Road towards Route 304 one will be able to make a right turn into the site.  On coming out of the site onto Bardonia Road one will not be permitted to make a left turn to return back down Bardonia Road but can turn only towards the 304 intersection.   

Traffic traveling South on Route 304 traffic will be able to make a left turn into the site from a stacking lane and make a right turn into the site if traveling North on 304.  The exit on 304 will be right turn only.  If a resident lives down Bardonia Road and wished to shop at the CVS he/she would have to exit the site on to 304 north and return to home via Germonds Road.   

Route 304 is not a Town road and so the driveway on 304 is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT) which is reviewing the proposed traffic lanes and access patterns to the site from 304.   Whether the DOT is also examining the traffic impact of the homes neighboring the site on 304 was not mentioned. 

The board discussed options such as permitting left turns onto Bardonia Road when the school is not in session but no good solution was apparent because traffic going into and coming out of the school would cause Bardonia Road bound vehicles to back up into 304 creating a massive traffic jam and associated vehicular hazards which would not be permitted by the DOT. 

The parking lot will be lit 24 hours with 18 foot high shoebox fixtures and there will be 'decorative' lights on the building itself. It is typical of the CVS parking lots to have a uniform spread of light and the sidewalks will be lit for pedestrians exiting their cars to walk into the store.

The construction is proposed to occur in phases because of the presence on the site of the Bardonia Pharmacy.  The suggested phasing was said to be out of a "sensitivity" that there is a pharmacy in the Bardonia Mall. The proposed phasing was described as attempt to keep the pharmacy open during construction and then when the building that houses the pharmacy is demolished the pharmacy would move to a "trailer so that prescriptions could be filled". On completion of the construction the pharmacy would be "transferred inside the CVS building".   

This peculiar phrasing seemed to imply that the Bardonia Pharmacy is being retained on the site and becoming part of the CVS pharmacy.  Perhaps it might be stated more properly that the Bardonia Pharmacy can carry on until the point that the CVS is completed and then the CVS organization will become the only pharmacy at the site. 

In phase 1 the bank, gas station, and the multi-family building would be demolished with the pharmacy fenced off but accessible from Route 304.   This area would be constructed as a parking lot to eventually service the CVS pharmacy.  Once that is completed with a driveway to Bardonia Road a temporary trailer would be placed there on the newly constructed parking lot out of which it is proposed that prescriptions would be processed while the Bardonia Mall, containing the Bardonia Pharmacy, is demolished and prepared for the construction of the CVS.   It might be noted that the Bardonia Pharmacy was given a long term lease based on which it extended into the adjoining former card shop.  There are five years remaining on the lease. 

The first comment uttered after the presentation by the developer and his associates was from the Chairwoman of the Planning Board, Shirley Thormann, who said: "I'm speechless". When asked by Ira Emanuel, Bergstol's attorney, "Is that good or bad?" she replied, "It depends on your point of view". She then asked her colleagues for their comments on the site plan and the concept of the phasing.  

Much discussion followed among the Board members about the right turn access into the site from Bardonia Road and the absence of a left turn exit out of the site to return back down Bardonia Road.  It appears that there is no good solution to this problem because of the traffic on Bardonia Road entering and exiting the school driveway.   

The developer's representatives suggested that with the Town's support they could go back to DOT and seek approvals to have a left hand turn and with the Town's support they might get approval.  Whether the Planning Board is prepared to take such a step given the safety issues that would be involved in backing up traffic from Bardonia Road into Route 304 remains highly uncertain.   A proposal to have a left hand turn permitted only at certain times of the day was rejected as not being feasible since drivers would ignore the sign and would make an illegal left turn to avoid having to drive several miles north on 304 and down Germonds Road to get back to their homes in Bardonia.  At the other proposed exit the DOT will not permit a left hand turn out of the site onto Route 304 under any proposed circumstance.

One fact that seems to have escaped everyone's consideration is that there are several private homes just north of the site on Route 304 and the residents there already have great difficulty exiting their driveways and making a left turn onto 304.  The proposed extension of a stacking lane to hold traffic coming south on 304 to enter the CVS site would mean that residents living in these adjacent homes would be condemned to a one way exit out of their homes to be able to proceed only north on Route 304 even if those residents wished to drive south towards Nanuet.   Clearly this raises huge traffic safety issues for these residents.  Additionally, the homes adjacent to the site will have the bedrooms of their houses continuously flooded with light during the night coming from the 18 foot tall shoebox fixtures.  This is clearly a health concern for the residents of those homes.

Several planning board members expressed concern about the aesthetics of the project with a single building surrounded with so much black top and parking.  Traffic passing along Route 304 would view a lighted car lot with numerous parked cars which is not exactly conducive to the type of neighborhood most Bardonia residents wish to live in. 

The phasing proposal was criticized by most board members as not workable and having a lot of safety issues.   One member expressed the view that the building should be moved closer to Route 304 to put it farther away from the school and concern was expressed that the CVS would be selling liquor so close to an elementary school. Circulation traffic patterns around the pharmacy were considered to be a "nightmare" by one board member and "horrific" by another. 

Diagonally across from the proposed CVS site is the presently undeveloped Bardonia Four Corners site which is to be developed with four stores.  This led to concerns being expressed as to the whole traffic situation in and around the Ludvigh Road, Bardonia Road, Route 304 intersection.  

Mr Sarna, the Town's traffic consultant made the following points:

The traffic through the Bardonia Road - Route 304 intersection is considered acceptable and deemed to be category C with a couple of category D. For the site plan there are a number of concerns about the internal circulation of traffic around the site.  85% of the traffic would enter the site from Route 304 and in order to access the drive-thru at the back of the pharmacy this traffic would have to drive through the entire parking field.  This traffic would also pass across the driveway for traffic entering the site from Bardonia Road.   All of this traffic has to then pass through the entire parking field again to exit the site at the Bardonia Road exit. Thus this traffic makes at least 1 1/2 turns around the site and would pass through the parking lot twice to get to the drive-thru and exit the site.   This is considered a lot of excess traffic circulating the proposed pharmacy. 

Traffic on the site will be so high that it will require a stop sign within the site itself.  In the parking field the traffic circulating would cross over the driveway that allows traffic to enter the site from Bardonia Road. There will therefore have to be a stop sign to manage this crossing traffic.  Sarna referred to this as "excess travel there".

Another issue brought up by Sarna is that if a car turns right on the site parallel to Bardonia Road and does not find a spot the only option is to turn left and exit the site north on Route 304 as there is no recirculation.   Having a vehicle trying to turn around in such an area would according to Sarna "frankly be a safety hazard".   

One suggestion made by a Board member was to move the store up closer to 304 to get it away from the school which according to another Board member is "practically kissing the school" but that would remove a row of parking along the 304 side which according to Sarna could not be successfully replaced somewhere else on the site.

The driveway to and from 304 does not have a sufficient lane to allow cars to slow down to enter the site and this stacking lane would have to be extended up 304 which would then impact homeowners exiting private driveways from their homes.   Sarna said that this is an area of concern that the Town and the DOT would have to be satisfied about but Sarna has seen nothing yet on that to meet his own concerns. 

Sarna expressed the view that the DOT would not permit a left turn out of the site on to Bardonia Road as the DOT wanted traffic turning off 304 down Bardonia Road to be able to move quickly away from the intersection and not back up into the intersection.   Bergstol's people made a second appeal to the Town for it to support an approach to the DOT to permit this left hand turn though why the Town should do this at the risk of causing a major accident at a junction already known to be a site of numerous collisions would seem to be a non-starter. The fact is that the traffic density proposed around the site and on the site would be, in the words of the planning board itself, "horrific".

The CVS will be allowed to sell liquor since door to door measurement from the door of the elementary school to the door of the CVS is beyond the prohibited limit set by law.

Two letters were then read into the record which were subsequently followed by a regrettable, arrogant and inappropriate statement made by Mr. Joel Epstein, a Bardonia  resident and the Town's Code and Zoning Enforcement Officer.  Epstein declared that a letter submitted to the Planning Board by Ms D'Angelo, a resident of Bardonia, who expressed her concerns as invited to do so by the Planning Board was "blather and frankly an insult". 

The following is the text of the two letters including the one about which Epstein made his deplorable remarks: 

Letter #1
To: planning@town.clarkstown.ny.us
Sent: 5/21/2013 1:24:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: May 22nd meeting

Dear Chairwoman/Chairman,

I am unable to attend the May 22nd planning board meeting, but it is important that my voice be heard.

My concerns are regarding the already planned CVS due to be built on the corner of Bardonia Road and Route 304. Since the landlord has already officially notified his tenants, I can assume it has already been approved.

I feel it is an unnecessary addition to this area. Once this CVS goes up it will make 3 CVS stores in a 7 mile stretch (a little much).

CVS stores are open 24 hours per day, which can be an invitation for crime. Only a few months ago CVS in Pearl River was robbed at gunpoint, with shots fired, and this was at 4:30 in the morning. People in that area say that all sorts of seedy characters are in that store during the overnight hours.

That corner of Route 304 has notoriously been a problem with traffic backing up on Bardonia Road, especially during school hours. People traveling North on 304 make a right onto Bardonia Rd and then hold up traffic waiting to make a left into that gas station lot.

It will be near impossible to make a left from that lot onto 304, so drivers will come out onto Bardonia Rd. to use the traffic light.

I had always understood that site to be zoned "light commercial", a huge chain drugstore, in my opinion, is not light.

This is my neighborhood, the local shops are also part of that neighborhood. It saddens me to think that before long Route 304 from Bardonia north could just become another Route 59! Is there nothing else that the land developer can come up with that would be more fitting to our neighborhood?

Please consider my thoughts and share them at the meeting and with the developer as well.

Thank you
Sincerely,
JoAnn DiGennaro

Letter #2
AnnMarie D'Angelo
Bardonia, NY 10954

Councilwoman Hausner said:  “While it is difficult for the small business owner to compete with the larger box stores, there is no replacing that 'neighborly' touch and friendly service you get when you shop locally and no denying that a dollar spent here in Clarkstown will do far more for our communities than a dollar spent someplace else.” 

Councilwoman Hausner said this in a press release published on November 21, 2012 from the Office of the supervisor, Town of Clarkstown. Both Councilwoman Hausner and Supervisor Alexander Gromack published this newsletter to announce the naming of Saturday November 24, 2012 as 'Small Business Saturday' and to emphasize the importance of shopping in small neighborhood stores to preserve our communities "neighborly touch and friendly service" according to Supervisor Gromack.

In the press release Gromack said that “Our residents love the new look and the vitality that these projects have brought to their hamlets. In addition to serving as vibrant small business centers, with neighborhood shops owned and operated by local merchants, the downtown centers are a meeting place for residents who understand the importance of supporting our local small business owners and operators. It has been a positive investment for shop keepers and residents.” 

While these statements clearly show the importance of supporting small shops and business in our community, Gromack and Hausner, both Town Board members, will have their own words put to the test during the issue of building a CVS on the corner of Bardonia Road and Route 304.

While we all love to shop in big chain stores and appreciate that Rockland County is so conveniently located near every store imaginable, that does not mean we would like these stores to move into our back yards.

However, in the small hamlet of Bardonia, a little neighborhood community made up of residential housing, small "mom and pop type stores" and an accredited elementary school, a huge corporate entity is trying to come in and take over the look and atmosphere of our quaint little locale. 

CVS wishes to build a store on the busy intersection of route 304 and Bardonia Road, leveling a small shopping mall that has small stores, some of which have been there for 40+ years.   

The old bank that used to be in the Bardonia Mall has been closed down for years but the actual building itself has been used for things such as the head quarters of Congresswoman Nita Lowey's political campaign. 

Bardonia Drug, a neighborhood pharmacy that has not only been there for decades but has recently expanded into the store next to it to increase its size to hold more products, such as surgical supplies for their customers.   Bardonia Drug has a long term lease. 

Video Magic, a local video store which was located in the small shopping mall for 24 years started out as a small video rental store and was then converted into a Video Tape Editing, and Video Tape Duplication Service. 

Video magic rented out part of their store to Chanell Nails, a nail salon for that was close and convenient for the residents of Bardonia. 

The Bardonia Deli has been there since 1974, making sandwiches and supplying lunches to the community for almost 40 years. 

Work Out Place, a martial arts and karate facility has been located in the shopping mall since 1984. 

Also located on the neighboring property being demolished in order to place this monster CVS is Bardonia Getty. Although Bardonia Getty no longer sells gas, there still remains an automotive repair shop owned by a local family which resides in Bardonia. Bardonia Getty has been there since 1993 providing needed auto services to many especially senior citizens.

The original Bardonia Post office, currently used as an apartment building in order to give local workers a place to live, is also in jeopardy of being leveled due to the historic building's location on the same  piece of property where CVS is looking to locate. The historic building has been there since 1905 and should have been preserved as a land mark.

Unfortunately the CVS being built on this land puts all of these small business at risk for closing permanently because in a small town there are not many places for these stores to locate to. While CVS has a location that is 2.05 miles from the intersection where the new CVS is proposed to be built and 3.87 miles away from the Pearl River CVS it makes one wonder if the Town is trying to eliminate the competition in our towns and just overload us with CVS megastores.

The Zoning for the lots where they would be building this large structure are zoned for LS, "Light Shopping", traditionally this zoning is made for residential areas that allow small businesses, churches, non-profit organizations and other small stores that will not deteriorate the neighborhood charisma and not put resident's safety at risk by allowing high volume traffic to be brought to the area if a big business was there. 

In order for the plan to go through, is a special use permit needed  in order for this type of large commercial business to be built?  According to Chapter 249, Article 1, section 249-5, special use permits will not be issued in instances where that special permit will have an adverse effect on the nearby properties zoned and used for residential purposes and that the traffic being generated by this will not have an adverse impact on route 304 or adjoining residential streets. (Town of Clarkstown, special permits).

(At this point Mr. Simoes who was reading the letter appropriately commented as an aside that the code the writer was referring to was for conversions of single family homes bordering 304 to professional offices. Chairwoman Thormann added that this is not the same zoning as LS.  The zoning on this site is 'local shopping' not 'light shopping'. So it is not applicable in this instance. Mr Simoes then continued reading the resident's letter having appropriately clarified that matter.)

When the proposed gas station, "QuickChek" was trying to locate on the same corner it was fought due to ordinances protecting the neighborhood's character and a 24 hour mega gas station could have affected the neighborhood's safety causing property values to decline. A CVS is bigger and is equally unsuitable for this site in Bardonia. 

The 24 hour CVS sells alcohol, lotto and cigarettes and would draw crowds to the store due to its location and hours, just as much as the previous proposed QuickChek would have done. CVS being a huge commercial business would also bring more traffic causing more congestion on Bardonia Road, Ludvigh Road and Rte 304 causing the same potential traffic and safety hazards that could have been brought by the QuickChek. There are already many accidents, problems with the number of cars putting pedestrians, parents and children from the elementary school and neighborhood drivers at risk; why should we welcome more issues? 

Just as the property may have been zoned for a gas station but since it closed and those same gas permits did not apply to a new business, closing a small local pharmacy should not allow the zoning of a huge chain store which will be up to twice the size of the entire shopping mall already in existence. It is very common for small businesses to be bought out by larger chain stores, but if a thriving small business does not want to leave, let alone a whole shopping mall of small stores doing well, why should we force them out?  The Bardonia Pharmacy has a lease and in the United States contract law is paramount in any consideration by a local authority. 

With all of the terrible tragedies going on in the world with increasing numbers of child pedophilia, abductions and then terrible terrorist attacks such as the Newtown shootings, why would it be a good idea to put a Mega CVS attracting more people to a store that is the next door neighbor of Bardonia Elementary School?   In a press release from Superintendent Alexander Gromack, Gromack about Newtown stated, "It reminded us there can be nothing more sacred or important than the safety and security of our families and loved ones. We are also reminded that no school, movie theater, shopping center, mall, house of worship, community or town, is immune or shielded from the acts of a terrorist or a deranged individual".  

It is important to not put our Bardonia children at risk. The Palisades Mall is the second largest mall in the United States and is located only 5.14 miles from the intersection where this new mega CVS is trying to locate while the Pearl River CVS is 5.81 miles from the Palisades mall.  So for people leaving the mall and looking for a close CVS, obviously the GPS systems will be bringing them to Bardonia. With the new construction of The Shops at Nanuet a similar problem will occur with the Bardonia intersection being located merely 1.76 miles away from there.   The Pearl River CVS is located 3.54 miles away from the Shops at Nanuet, once again causing people to be directed to Bardonia.

By allowing CVS to ruin our small community and build a huge, non-neighborhood friendly designed store, we are lowering our standards and setting a new neighborhood look which will not only invite other large chain stores into the neighborhood but they will prevent the people from Bardonia from being able to fight/stop, or even voice our concerns over the next chain store coming into our town.  Once we allow one to come in, they can all come in because it will change all the zoning laws around us.

Many people have said that CVS may bring new jobs to the community, unfortunately this seems very doubtful. The New City CVS is always crowded, always busy, and always understaffed. Not only do they operate 24 hours but you can count on waiting on a long line almost any time of day/night. In the later hours (middle of the night) they have very few staff members on duty and you usually have to locate them yourself in order to get them to ring you up. How could we possibly consider a new CVS will give people more jobs knowing that the pre-existing, already established CVS locations are already being run understaffed? It's pretty safe to say that CVS will be taking more jobs away from people then the ones they will be "making". 

The three lots that are going to be demolished in order to build this proposed CVS are covered in potholes, the road is completely uneven and the landscaping has completely been let go because the owner of the property does not care what it looks like. If the land owner would just hire paving companies to come in and fix the road, landscapers to cut the grass and maintain the trees, and builders to remodel, paint or fix the existing structures that alone would create more jobs for people. We do not need to eliminate jobs to create a few, not to mention there will be many jobs created in the Shops of Nanuet, the building of a new CVS cannot even put a dent in that. 

References:
1) "Special permits"  http://www.ecode360.com/print/cl0028?guid=6707992&children=true
2) Gromack on Newtown:  http://www.town.clarkstown.ny.us/html/news.asp?id=159

3) Gromack on small business:   http://www.town.clarkstown.ny.us/html/news.asp?id=401

4) All distances between malls and cvs locations were obtained from Yahoo maps.

Chairwoman Thormann commented that while the letter was lengthy every citizen had a right to address the board and be heard. 

During the time for public comment the following issues were raised by the public:

Resident #1 Michael Hull stated that he was not quite sure he had heard the truth about the Bardonia Pharmacy.  The story is that the pharmacy is going to be maintained in operation through a transition in which it would operate out of a trailer and then it would merge into the new pharmacy.  This gave the impression to the attendees that the present pharmacy is becoming part of the CVS pharmacy. The pharmacy was granted a long term lease by the developer and based on that lease the pharmacist had made a substantial investment by expanding his operation into the adjacent store.  Given it is desired to break that lease and have the present pharmacy move out it was stated in the earlier TAC meeting that the Bardonia Pharmacy would be bought out by the CVS organization.  Mr Bergstol was invited to expand on the statement made at the TAC meeting and set the record straight.  He was also invited to explain how, given the strict codes about facilities out of which prescriptions could be dispensed, how the pharmacy operations can possibly be conducted out of a trailer.  The question was also raised as to whether the screening off of the pharmacy during the phasing was perhaps a means to put pressure on the pharmacist to break his lease at a lower cost.  Hull also pointed out the high incidents of accidents at the 304/Bardonia Road intersection and provided photographs of an accident that had happened the day before the Planning Board's meeting. He also pointed out that the Pearl River pharmacy was reported to be a place where illegal drug transactions were carried out in the overnight hours and that a shot had been fired into the ceiling of that pharmacy during a hold up.  

Resident #2 is a homeowner living adjacent to the site who said that her son's bedroom will be overlooking the parking lot and the lights. She stated that it was very disconcerting to know that the property value of her home would go down because of who will be around the CVS in the late night hours.  She was also concerned about the noise of cars in the lot and concerned about the traffic flow. She indicated the difficulties she was experiencing getting out of her driveway presently. 

Resident #3 has lived in Bardonia for 47 years.  She pointed out that the Bardonia Pharmacy delivered prescriptions while the CVS will not.  She asked Bergstol what was the truth about the lease presently held by the Bardonia Pharmacy since the pharmacy owner has said that the reports he has agreed to give up his lease are not true.   Another resident indicated that he had also spoken to the Bardonia Pharmacist just 2 days ago and was told he had no agreement with Mr Bergstol or with the CVS pharmacy.  According to this resident the Bardonia Pharmacist said that Mr. Bergstol is trying to push him out.  

(Chairwoman Thormann asked Mr. Bergstol if he cared to respond and his attorney, Ira Emanuel, replied: "There is an agreement between us, CVS and Bardonia Pharmacy". Emanuel offered no further details. A call was placed to the pharmacist after the meeting and the pharmacist confirmed that there was indeed an agreement for him to leave and that the proposed trailer operation would be a CVS operation and not his. Presumably CVS would collect prescriptions in the trailer and fill them at one of their other pharmacies until the CVS on the site was up and running.)

Resident #4 lives in New City and expressed concern about a large store coming in and pushing out small businesses.  He observed that the traffic flow proposed for the Bardonia site was similar to the traffic flow of the recently built Walgreens in Nyack on Route 59. He works in Nyack and observed that he gets stopped frequently by the traffic turning into that Walgreens and that a similar thing was bound to happen in Bardonia.  Further, the streets around the Walgreens are wider than Bardonia Road and does not have the complication of school traffic.   He observed that the present traffic flow in Nyack is horrible and that it will be horrendous at the proposed CVS in Bardonia.   He also pointed out that there was a Fire sub-station just down Bardonia Road and that its access up Bardonia Road could not be blocked by traffic at any time of the day or night.

Resident #5 lives in Bardonia and is a retired small business owner.  He said he was ashamed that a big chain CVS would be permitted to come into Bardonia which is a small hamlet compared with New City and Nanuet.  Being a small business owner he said he knew what it was like to endure long hours, sweat, and 100% effort to making customers happy. He expressed the view that CVS couldn't care less about Bardonia and the people who live there and pay the taxes.  Mr. Bergstol was putting out six private small businesses who all have families and are paying taxes.   As far as the property being an eyesore that was the fault of the landlord, Mr. Bergstol, because he stopped maintaining the property while the planning board are allowing his ideas to go through.  His attitude seems to be "why should I put any money into the property if they are not going to allow me to do what I want to do".  This resident has lived in Bardonia for over 30 years and found it unbelievable that the traffic is only a C or a couple of Ds when there are constantly accidents at that corner because it also has to bear the traffic going into the school.  This resident stated that he was totally against the proposal and was surprised that the Board would allow all of the families to go out of business. 

Chairwoman Thormann interjected that the board had not voted to approve the project at this point so no assumptions should be made and further that the Planning Board had to follow the law as to what Mr. Bergstol's rights were to do with the property. She also stated that the board was not putting out small business owners but that we live in a land of competition and Mr. Bergstol was not asking for anything that by law he was not entitled to.   It is due to the "loss of small town America" she said. 

The resident then asked how will the Town protect the residents of Bardonia who have to pass through this Bardonia Road/304 intersection as dangerous as it is without the CVS and then in addition the Town would permit the CVS to be open 24 hours to bring in more traffic and make things more dangerous for the residents of Bardonia.  

Chairwoman Thormann replied that the law states any business can be open 24 hours. 

Resident #6 pointed out that Supervisor Gromack was repeatedly stating that one of his main goals was the beautification of the Town of Clarkstown with little mini parks, waterfalls and mini gardens. Also Town staff have being going around asking how they can make local areas more livable and walkable and encourage small businesses.  Why not begin then with questioning why there is a proposal to place a big box store in Bardonia?  He asked if this was in keeping with the idea that the Town of Clarkstown was trying to make New City a walking place for individuals.  His understanding was that drive-ins were no longer to be permitted in the Main Street area of New City because of the danger to pedestrians and the desired character of the downtown.  So he questioned why there was consideration being given to "moving the trash to Bardonia" and if the desire was to make areas more livable and walkable how did this concept fit in with a proposal to place a big box store in Bardonia. 

Chairwoman Thormann commented that the question was a good one and that regrettably she did not have an answer.  Thormann then asked Councilwoman Lasker if she had an answer as a member of the Town Board.  Lasker said she would bring the question to the attention of the Town Board.  Town Planner Simoes then proffered that the New City Hamlet Zoning was a new zoning district recently passed as four different sub-areas centered around Main Street. 

Chairwomman Thormann asked on behalf of the resident if there is such creative zoning for New City why has there not been something similar put into place for Bardonia. Simoes replied that in Bardonia for Local Shopping as a zoning category the only restriction is on minimum parcel size and since four parcels are being bundled together to make the lot for the CVS it meets the present zoning codes that applied for Bardonia.   If there was a zoning law with a maximum permitted size that would be different but that is not the case with the zoning laws which pertain to the CVS site.  

Resident #7 has lived in Bardonia since 1970 and has been very involved in public government.  She expressed concerns about the lack of deliveries from CVS pharmacies.   She said that walking to the site would be impossible and expressed concern about aesthetics of the site.   The concept of putting trash disposal at the back of the pharmacy next to the elementary school where rats could be attracted was raised as an issue. 

There then followed an unfortunate disparaging comment from Joel Epstein who is employed by the Town as the Code and Zoning Officer and who spoke both as a Town employee and as a resident of Bardonia. Epstein was the subject of a highly critical article on Town employees whose overtime charges appear to be excessive.   Epstein's salary in 2012 was $106,765 and he was paid an additional $69,745 in overtime making him the second highest paid recipient of overtime in the Town of Clarkstown for a general employee.

Resident #8 Joel Epstein verbatim transcript  "My name is Joel Epstein and I live at 99 Bardonia Road.  I need to qualify myself as a Town official which I will speak about first. I am the Code and Zoning Enforcement Officer. 

This a redevelopment of a permitted use. I think that pretty much sums it up. The developer has a right to redevelop his property and it is not a big box store.  It doesn't matter what the brand is.  This is a building review for a site plan and also as a zoning official I would just say that the drive-in restriction in New City was installed by the Town Board in order to restrict the number of drive-ins because of all of the banks and restaurants which already exist in New City which is the hamlet center and the County seat.  Comparing that to Bardonia where there are no drive-thrus, and the zoning that was adopted by the Town Board is not applicable, is a non-sequiter.  

Now as a resident of Bardonia for my whole life with exception of college and the army and also as one of those small businessmen that looked at the back side of this site for almost 25 years (referring to the Lock Stock and Barrel restaurant) with a liquor license that pre-existed the school - how about that - that beer issue (selling of beer from the CVS) is a non issue for the Bardonia school and speaking as an alumnus of the old Bardonia school that pre-existed the one there now, there is no issue with take-out beer.  There is (sic) no wine sales.  This is a take-out beer license and wine is only permitted in packaged liquor stores. And knowing a little bit about the law it is measured door to door and not from the property line.  

My issue as a Bardonia resident is this site begs this redevelopment.  It really doesn't matter what is installed there and with all due respect to my neighbors this entire site should be demolished and redeveloped. The traffic there now and the whole circulation is horrible.  The hodge podge of the mixed uses there, the original shopping center and the pharmacy. I grew up there. I lament the loss of the local pharmacy there the same way and I have to hear from my wife this afternoon.  

You know this is something that is a very great boon to Bardonia. This is a great rateable. The man here (Bergstol) is investing a ton of money into the old gas station site and the hodge podge of the bank and the shopping center sitting behind it.  The traffic circulation - I watched it for 25 years from my second story window - it was a nightmare. Nothing they could do there could be worse than what is there now and as a marginal historic preservationist I would also lament the loss of the original Bardonia Train Station and post office.  But you know what it turned into, a stuccoed tenement.  I looked at it for a long time - I walked to school as a youngster. I think this is going to be a great benefit to Bardonia.  

I think my neighbors are way off base and I think that Mrs D'Angelo with her blather about everything under the sun is so distracted that it's almost insulting.  

I am speaking as a neighbor now and not as a Town official but I think that this is a great project.  I am not expert as the people here to discuss the site plan issues.  I think they are going to have to go back and forth with building review and engineering discussions.  You know I have great respect for Mr. Sarna (the Town's traffic consultant) and I think all that stuff is details that have to be worked out.   

Everybody should understand that this is going to be built - it will be a good thing and it is going to improve Bardonia."

Following Mr. Epstein's remarks I took public issue with his referral to the letter from resident D'Angelo as "her blather about everything under the sun" and his referral to her as being "so distracted" in her letter that she was "almost insulting".  The following exchange then took place between me and Mr. Epstein:

Hull:  I would like to take exception to Mr. Epstein's characterization of a letter from a citizen of our Town as being "blather". 

Epstein interjecting and repeating his disparaging comment:  That is what it is, blather!

Hull:  That's what it is?  And was it also "blather" when you came to my home and knocked on my door when I did not know you to ask me if I would have a meeting with Mr. Bergstol about the QuickChek?  Was that also something one might characterize as "blather", Mr. Epstein?

Shortly thereafter the meeting was adjourned to be continued on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

Michael N. Hull is a retired senior citizen who writes opinion pieces on theology, philosophy and local political issues. He is presently a Director of Clarkstown Residents Opposing Patronage (CROP) and is President of the Residents Association of Bardonia which was formed to defeat the original proposal for a QuickChek.

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