Decision on luncheonette coming soon


At Town Hall Tuesday, Chris Lewis questioned whether four parking spaces would be enough should Marc Wein’s luncheonette be converted to office space.

The Town Board will decide on March 19 whether to allow MarcWein to forever change the Center luncheonette property he ownsinto office space, and questions about the adequacy of parking forthe proposed office and the future of the adjacent Shelter IslandPresbyterian Church parking lot were fielded during Tuesday’s TownHall work session.

The plan is for M. Wein Realty, owned by Mr. Wein’s wife Melinaand currently renting adjacent office space on North Ferry Road, tomove into the luncheonette.

Councilwoman Chris Lewis commented that the M. Wein operationuses all four parking spaces currently available to it, and thatthe proposed office conversion would also supply exactly that manyspaces – four. Mr. Wein’s proposal lists seven parking spaces butincludes three on the street that could not be used exclusively bythe office.

With only four dedicated, on-site parking spaces, Mr. Wein’sproposal meets 20 percent of the code requirement of 20 parkingspaces. Would that be enough to meet the needs of the property,which includes an apartment, in addition to those of a real estateoffice?

“You can’t count street parking in front of someone else’sbusiness, Ms. Lewis cautioned. She suggested that Mr. Wein makearrangements with the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church for apercentage of its parking lot or tear down the storage barn on theproperty to make room for more parking spaces.

That’s when Mr. Wein joined the meeting and addressed theparking demands.

He invited board members to walk into his wife’s or any realestate office on the Island. “The situation of how real estateoffices are run has changed dramatically. He said that even if fiveagents are on duty, “virtually no more than one person is in theoffice. “You don’t see more than one car there at a time.

When an office meeting is held, several cars would be there, Ms.Lewis said.

“The real estate office has almost become an anachronism, Mr.Wein responded. “Between cell phones, telephones, the Internet -it’s not a gathering place.

Councilman Peter Reich agreed with the idea that only two peopleare in a real estate office at a time.

“So the four off-street parking spots would be enough, Ms. Lewisresponded.

Mr. Reich replied in the affirmative, saying that the decreasein demand for parking compared to the non-conforming luncheonettegives him “a big comfort level.

But the situation has changed since the caf was operating, Ms.Lewis said, because the Presbyterian Church lot is no longeravailable for the general use. Several weeks ago, the churchleadership sent a letter to Mr. Wein and the Shelter Island Schoolnotifying them that the lot was no longer available for generaluse. Some cars that previously used the now empty church lot can beseen parked on the street in front of the luncheonette.

Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty asked Mr. Wein if he had spoken tothe church. “I’m open to a partial lease arrangement, he said,adding that without access to the church lot “it would boggle mymind how the luncheonette could exist.

Town Attorney Laury Dowd asked if the board wanted to limit thetype of office use permitted, noting that some businesses generatemore parking than others. The permit application specifies “office(nonmedical) space. Mr. Dougherty indicated that it should bepinned down to include real estate use and other suitablesuggestions from Mr. Wein.

Ms. Lewis emphasized the permanence of the Town Board decision:”If somebody came along in the future and wanted to have aluncheonette again, Marc is willing but my understanding is thatthey can’t do that. The Board of Health won’t let them.

“That’s absolutely, positively the case, Mr. Wein said. “I wouldrather have any paying tenant there. The luncheonette would be theideal one because it has the infrastructure.

The board picked up the issue again at the end of the worksession as Ms. Lewis, who acknowledged wearing the hat of aPresbyterian Church member for a moment, said that “an issue forthe church is the liability and the upkeep of a piece of propertythey scarcely use. They would likely welcome help in insuring ormaintaining it. As to the closure of the lot, she said, “I don’twant people to think it’s like a game they are playing.

Councilman Glenn Waddington commented, “I don’t want to getkicked out of the choir … but I hate driving through the Centerof town and seeing that thing empty. If the church had some kind ofsolution …

“Pick up the phone, Mr. Dougherty concluded.

Paul Shepherd asked, “Is there anything you can do about theparking? saying that while he was visiting the real estate officein 2008, there were four to six people inside. Four parking spacesis a minimum, he commented.

Joann Piccozzi also spoke from the audience, saying that onBridge Street, the parking for the Corcoran real estate office”takes up the whole wall of off-street parking adjacent to thebridge. “It’s still an issue, a major issue.

During the March 9 work session, the Town Board alsodiscussed:

Paying $7,500 for an audit of town employees’ deferredcompensation plan, a new state requirement. Unhappy with a longlist of unfunded mandates from the state, board members said theywill write letters of protest in response to future mandates.

Revising a code change reducing the SFLA (square foot livingarea) that triggers a special permit from 8,500 to 6,000 squarefeet of heated, finished interior space, excluding unfinishedbasements. The change would require a new public hearing.

Approving the use of St. Gabe’s field for an afternoon reunionof the Class of 2000. A resolution is expected at the board’s nextregular meeting, March 19 beginning at 4:30 p.m.