Planning board hears plan to convert West Babylon auto shop at 270 Wyandanch Ave. into 24-hour gas station and convenience store

The Town of Babylon Planning Board on March 24 held a public hearing on an application to redevelop 270 Wyandanch Avenue in West Babylon from an auto repair shop into a gasoline filling station with a 2,792-square-foot convenience store, applicant representatives said.

The proposal would expand the existing 2,182-square-foot building to 2,792 square feet, add a canopy over four pump islands, install two double-wall fiberglass underground storage tanks and repave the property. Applicant representatives said the site would include new stormwater management, full ADA-compliant sidewalks, LED dark-sky lighting, a code‑compliant trash enclosure and new landscaping including dense evergreens and a six-foot PVC privacy fence at the rear. The operator would provide 14 code-mandated parking spaces overall; the plan as presented would build 10 stalls and “land bank” four additional stalls for future construction. The applicant said the store would operate 24 hours a day and that the CCTV system would be monitored on‑ and off‑site.

Why it matters: The project would reintroduce retail fuel sales at a site that historically operated as a gas station, and it includes underground fuel storage and tanker access that raised operational questions from the board. The planning board closed the public hearing and reserved decision to review comments and outstanding site‑plan items.

Applicant presentation and technical details

Chris Tartaglia of High Point Engineering, speaking for Eagles Elite Auto Repair Inc., said the property has been used as a gas station as far back as a 1968 certificate of occupancy, and that tanks were removed “somewhere in the early 2000s.” Tartaglia said owners Vedat Boos and Jesse Velasquez seek to discontinue auto repairs, return the site to a filling station with a convenience store, and improve sidewalks, curb cuts and landscaping. Key details presented by Tartaglia and his team:

- Building area: existing 2,182 square feet; proposed total 2,792 square feet (rear expansion). (source: Chris Tartaglia) - Pumps/tanks: canopy over four pump islands; two new double-wall fiberglass underground storage tanks at the Mount Avenue side. (source: Chris Tartaglia) - Parking: town code requires 14 stalls; the plan shows 14 spaces with four “land‑banked” and 10 to be built now; one ADA stall near the front door and a truck loading stall adjacent to the tanks. (source: Chris Tartaglia) - Hours and security: proposed 24/7 operation; CCTV with full property coverage monitored on- and off-site. (source: Chris Tartaglia) - Accessibility and public improvements: new ADA-compliant sidewalks on both frontages, stormwater management upgrades, full repaving and dark-sky LED lighting. (source: Chris Tartaglia) - Landscaping: street trees, evergreen screening and a six-foot PVC fence in the rear; irrigation proposed to maintain plantings. (source: Chris Tartaglia)

Board and public questions

Board members and staff asked about tanker routing and safety. Tartaglia described a preferred tanker route that would allow a tanker to enter a curb cut on Mount Avenue, position at a truck loading stall facing north to allow passenger-side fills, and exit via either Mount Avenue or Wyandanch Avenue. He said the curb cuts would be widened to accommodate truck traffic.

Board members also asked about deliveries to the convenience store; Tartaglia estimated small box-truck deliveries staggered through the day, perhaps five or six times on busy days. He confirmed a six-foot fence and additional fencing to close the rear of the building so there is no public access behind the structure.

Vanda Bordies, representing the Belmont Lake Civic Association, told the board the association supports the improvements but asked what the store would sell and whether there would be hot food or alcohol. Town counsel and the applicant said the store would include a small food counter of roughly 300 square feet for hot and cold takeaway items and “typical convenience‑store” merchandise; the applicant said they expect to seek a beer license subject to state approval.

Board members raised concerns about conditions on the adjacent property that appeared to contain parked vehicles and deteriorating fencing and retaining walls. A board member asked that town inspectors visit the neighboring property and take appropriate enforcement action if warranted so the new investment is not surrounded by blight.

Outcome and next steps

The board voted by voice to close the public hearing and reserve decision so staff can review comments and unresolved site‑plan matters. Motion to close: motion by Julianne; second by Jerry (Gerald O'Neil). Voice vote in favor; counts were not specified in the transcript. The record was left open for written comments to planningcomments@townofbabylonny.gov or by phone to the planning department.

The planning board did not take a final approval vote on the site plan at the March 24 meeting; decision remains reserved while staff and the applicant address outstanding technical and site‑plan conditions.