Village of Great Neck Plaza trustees granted at their Wednesday meeting a conditional use permit to Hu Jiang Medical Arts, an orthodontics and acupuncture clinic run by a husband and wife team.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had an orthodontist-acupuncture combination, so this is kind of unique because you area husband and wife and can offer this unique service,” village Mayor Jean Celender said.
The two clinics will operate out of the same space at 79-81 Cutter Mill Road. The business will have three private rooms for acupuncture, performed by the permit’s applicant Hu Jiang, and one larger room for orthodontic work, done by Jiang’s husband Ling Hu, both of whom are licensed in their fields, they said.
Plaza Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen said he was concerned that an aspect of the plan calling for three orthodontics chairs in one open room would create a lack of privacy for patients, but officails said this is standard practice for these offices.
“When I dropped off my daughters to the orthodontist they had more chairs in one room – it was different than what I was used to,” Trustee Larry Katz said.
Hu said having more patients in one room makes them less nervous.
“For kids, it’s probably more comfortable to be in there with other kids,” Trustee Gerry Schneiderman said.
But for acupuncture, Hu said individuals rooms for the service is standard practice, as patients often prefer more privacy.
Jiang and her husband said they hope to open the space as soon as possible, but did not disclose an exact date. Hu said he could not predict how long construction would take or how fast they could meet with other municipal agencies to get additional approvals.
Hu said he also owns another orthodontist practice in Flushing, Queens, and that some of his Queens patients could take the Long Island Railroad’s Port Washington line to Great Neck if they could not get an appointment at their regular location.
