McDonald's, seeking to build at a busy Greenlawn intersection, responds to questions from Huntington officials

The Huntington Zoning Board of Appeals is reviewing answers to questions it posed to representatives for McDonald’s, which wants to open a drive-thru on the corner of Pulaski Road and Park Avenue in Greenlawn.

Representatives for the fast-food chain presented their case for a zoning exception to the seven-member board at a public hearing June 4.  The company wants to have the eatery designated as a food shop instead of a restaurant, to coincide with the parcel’s current zoning. The maximum number of seats for a food shop is 15, according to the town. McDonald's is planning 32 seats, and that would be considered a restaurant, which isn't allowed in the current zoning. 

The board had several questions for McDonald's, including asking for a wider range of times that traffic is studied at the intersection, and reasons why there was not broader data analysis for a traffic study for other McDonald’s locations in the town.

“We gave them a two-week period of time in which to submit answers to questions posed by board members,” John Bennett, counsel to the ZBA, said Thursday. “They made the submissions, so now we’re in the process of checking to see, did they actually respond to questions presented by board members.”

Zoning officials declined to elaborate on how McDonald's answered the questions.

"The ZBA will not be discussing or sharing any details of those responses with the press prior to fully reviewing the answers themselves and sharing that information with relevant parties," town spokeswoman Christine Geed said in an email.

Alison LaPointe, an attorney for McDonald's, did not respond phone calls or an email from Newsday seeking comment.

The proposal for the restaurant near the busy intersection has been met with near universal disapproval. Town Supervisor Ed Smyth has said he’s not “lovin’ it” and that he cannot think of “a worse location” for a drive-thru eatery because the location "is not in keeping with the character of the neighborhood.”

Residents in nearby neighborhoods received flyers in their mailboxes prior to the June 4 public hearing encouraging them to make their opposition to the plan known to elected officials.

Mary Beth White, who lives near the proposed eatery, started an online petition that has garnered more than 650 signatures and 250 comments. She said she opposes the McDonald's primarily over concerns that Park Avenue is an important access road. 

“As my background as a nurse practitioner I know how many medical facilities there are on that street and how important it is to have clear access when someone needs to get to Huntington Hospital quickly,” she said.

The hospital is on Park Avenue about 2¼ miles north of the proposed McDonald's site. 

The public hearing was closed June 4. Once a hearing is closed, the board no longer takes comments from the public. The board has to vote within 62 days after the hearing, unless the board and the applicant agree to an extension, town officials said.

Bennett said once the review is completed and the answers to the questions “comport with the directive of the board, ultimately going forward there will be a decision issued."