Apartments Going Up In Village

Building owner Anthony Zambratto has received planning board approval to go add a third story and convert second-floor office space to apartments at his property on New York Avenue and Elm Street in Huntington Village. Above are the existing building at left; and a rendering of the proposed addition at right.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com 

Plans to add a third story and nine apartments to a building on the corner of New York Avenue and Elm Street in Huntington village are moving forward.

The Huntington Planning Board last week weighed in on the proposed architecture of the building on 356 New York Avenue, which currently houses a Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union on the first floor and offices on the second.

Planning Board Chairman Paul Ehrlich said during the meeting the architecture of the proposed third story appeared “consistent with the rest of the building and the general area.”

Building owner Andrew Zambratto’s planned conversion of the second-story office space into apartments and the construction of a third story was previously approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2017. The plan required a variance from the ZBA for the “increase of gross square footage,” according to town documents.

There was no parking variance required for the project because the building’s current office space requires 40 parking stalls under town code, while the planned apartments require only 34 stalls.

Plans submitted to the town show the NEFCU would continue to occupy the commercial space in the first floor of the building. The existing 4,000 square-foot second floor and proposed 4,000 square-foot third floor would be converted into nine apartments. Planning officials said there would be four one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments divided between the top two floors.

Several members of the planning board expressed at last weeks meeting some concern about the design of the exterior of the building’s first floor, saying the brick from the second and third stories should remain consistent across all three floors.

Ehrlich said at the meet the board did not reach a consensus on the architecture, and planning officials said they would notify the building owner to “make some revisions.”

Last week’s meeting was Ehrlich’s first at the helm of the planning board. He was appointed by the town board last month to replace longtime planning board chairman Paul Mandelik. Mandelik led the planning board for around 15 years. Ehrlich, a relative newcomer to the planning board, was first appointed to the seven-person board last February.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union.

American Legion Celebrates A Century Of Service

Members of American Legion Greenlawn Post 1244, Huntington Post 360 and Northport Post 694 receive proclamations at Tuesday’s town board meeting in recognition of the national organization’s 100th anniversary. Photo/Town of Huntington

By Connor Beach

cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Members from Huntington’s three American Legion posts were recognized by the town board on Tuesday in celebration of the organization’s 100th anniversary.

Veterans from American Legion Greenlawn Post 1244, Huntington Post 360 and Northport Post 694 accepted proclamations from Councilwoman Joan Cergol to acknowledge each post’s contributions to the community.

“You do so much to help make Huntington a great place to live, a community that thanks and respects those who served our country in times of war and in times of peace,” Cergol said. “Each one of the posts has supported the pillars established by the American Legion a century ago. You have done the American Legion proud, but just as important, you have done Huntington proud.”

The American Legion was first convened in 1919 by World War I combat troops in Paris, France, and officially chartered by Congress later that year. American Legion Huntington Post 360 was established soon after in 1921, and American Legion Greenlawn Post 1244 followed in 1943.

The organization was founded to help veterans dealing with the physical and emotional toll of war work their way back into civilian life, and now has over 2 million members in more than 13,000 posts worldwide.

Over the last century, the American Legion has developed into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. The organization’s lobbying on behalf of veterans has led to the creation of the Veterans Administration, passage of the GI Bill of Rights and spurred research to help veterans deal with PTSD and the effects of Agent Orange, atomic radiation and Gulf War illness.

American Legion posts around the world donate more than 3.7 million hours of volunteer service, assist on more than 181,000 VA benefits claims and cases and award more than $4 million in college scholarships.

Members of the local American Legion posts also help locate, identify and bury the remains of veterans and their spouses, as well as organizing burial services for deceased veterans who died without family.

Cergol, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, called the town’s American Legion posts “integral parts of the community.”

The American Legion posts sponsor local Boy and Girl Scouts, organize Memorial Day parades, and provide food cards to needy veterans and support local food pantries.

Explosion, Fire Rips Ripley Drive Home

A ladder truck from Commack Fire Department gets into position at the scene of a house fire and explosion on Ripley Drive in Northport. Long islander News photos/Sophia Ricco

Firefighters in East Northport battled raging flames and a propane explosion last week during a house fire that left one person injured.

The East Northport Fire Department received reports of a fire on Ripley Drive at approximately 12:30 p.m., Feb. 28, fire officials said. Chief John Jacobsen from the Northport Fire Department was the first on scene and confirmed the house was on fire.

Fire officials said the first responding crews were met with intense flames in the back of the house, followed by an explosion after the fire ignited gas from a 30-pound propane cylinder.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the back of the house despite the propane explosion sending flames 30 feet above the roof, according to fire officials.

Firefighters cut holes in the roof of a home in Northport to help put out a blaze that left one person injured last week.

Fire officials said it took about 60 firefighters from East Northport, Northport, Greenlawn and Commack, under the command of Chief Dan Flanagan, an hour and a half to bring the flames under control.

One female resident of the home was taken to Huntington Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to fire officials. The fire is under investigation by the Suffolk Police Arson Squad and Town of Huntington Fire Marshal.