The Village of Flower Hill Board of Trustees on Monday approved a “change of use” permit for Kings County Luxury Automobiles for 1033 Northern Boulevard, pending a site plan review by building inspector James Gilhooly.
The permit would allow the building to be converted from its former use as a retail clothing store to a car dealership. The change would bring the location full circle. Prior to housing the retail store, the build was used by a Saab dealership.
Christopher Corwin, a lawyer with the Glen Cove-based Corwin law office who represented Kings County Luxury Automobiles, said the used luxury car dealership did not have any construction planned for the site’s interior or exterior.
Corwin said he obtained the original blueprints and site plan from the architects who designed the site for the Saab dealership, and resubmitted them on behalf of Kings County Luxury Automobiles.
A few trustees had reviewed the plans, but Village Administrator Ronnie Shatzkamer said she did not submit the site plans to Gilhooly because she was under the assumption that since the plans had been previously approved for Saab, they did not need to be approved again for Kings County Luxury Automobiles.
Village of Flower Hill Mayor Elaine Phillips said she didn’t intend to stall the dealership’s plans, but did not feel comfortable approving the plans without Gilhooly first reviewing them.
Gilhooly agreed with Phillips, saying, “It’s an incomplete submission, as far as I’m concerned.”
Corwin compared Kings County Luxury Automobiles’ dealership plans to the Aston Martin Long Island design at 1060 Northern Boulevard, a location without flags or superfluous signage.
Albert Seror, the owner of Kings County Luxury Automobiles who was also in attendance at Monday’s meeting, said the dealership planned to sell used luxury vehicles ranging in price from $50,000 to more than $100,000, and estimated the dealership would sell between 10-13 cars per month.
“I can assure you nobody will be driving the cars unless they are pre-approved by the bank,” he said.
The Saab dealership previously located at 1033 Northern Boulevard had a showroom with enough space for three cars inside and up to three for display outside.
But Trustee Tab Hauser said the owners did not follow the regulations of its permit, overstocking the property and eliminating required handicapped spaces.
Corwin said Kings County Luxury Automobiles would have 11 parking spaces in addition to two reserved for handicapped motorists and the dealership would not overstock its inventory because its repairs are conducted at the company’s Brooklyn headquarters.
“It’s hard to acquire this amount of expensive cars and stockpile 10, 15, 20 of these things,” Corwin said.
The board also passed two local laws at the meeting, one amending village code as it pertains to the alteration of trees, shrubs, brush grass and weeds and another defining a property’s gross floor area.
A public hearing was scheduled for a vote on a local law outlining guidelines for wireless telecommunications facilities, but was adjourned for further discussion until the board’s next meeting on Aug. 5.
