Developer seeks to rebuild Levittown gas station with new Bola Market and Tim Hortons; board reserves decision after neighbors raise delivery, easement and flag

Bola EM Realty LLC asked the Hempstead Town Board for site-plan approval and repeal of an existing town-board covenant so it can raise and replace the gasoline station and convenience store at 3285 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown.

The applicant’s attorney, Matthew Ingber, said the plan keeps the fueling use, maintains eight fueling positions and replaces the existing one-story convenience store with a 2,633-square-foot Bola Market that would include a Tim Hortons coffee shop. The proposed canopy and pump islands would be reoriented and moved further from Hempstead Turnpike: the canopy would be about 21.1 feet from the Turnpike compared with the existing 9.9 feet, and the pump islands would be about 31.9 feet from Jerusalem Avenue and 33.6 feet from Hempstead Turnpike, which the attorney said exceeds the town code’s 25-foot fuel-island setback.

Project details presented to the board included site landscaping increases, new curb-cut modifications, closure of the driveway close to the Turnpike–Jerusalem intersection, and a new no-left-turn sign on Jerusalem Avenue. The plan also would reduce the rear Jerusalem Avenue driveway and prohibit left turns out of the remaining Hempstead Turnpike driveway.

Neighbor concerns: multiple nearby business owners and tenants told the board they rely on deliveries by large trucks, including 18-wheel tractor-trailers, and said existing easements and the narrow access area behind the shopping center are already tight. Speakers who identified themselves as business owners in the adjoining shopping center said the proposed configuration could make it difficult or impossible for large deliveries to reach their loading areas and risk increased traffic congestion and safety problems.

Town and applicant responses: project engineer Nick Buscemi told the board the proposed building would not encroach on recorded ingress–egress or sewer easements and that the plan actually expands an area to a 24-foot ingress–egress corridor in one location, while the mapped easements themselves remain unaffected. The applicant also said it would add landscaping, irrigation and a flagpole at neighbors’ request. The applicant noted that access control is partly outside the town’s authority: Hempstead Turnpike is under New York State DOT and Jerusalem Avenue is under Nassau County DPW, and those agencies control full access decisions.

Board action: After public comment and board discussion, the board voted to close the public hearing and reserve decision on the application so the applicant can meet with adjoining business owners, address access and delivery concerns and return with documentation as needed. The motion to close the hearing and reserve decision carried with all board members present recorded as voting “Aye.”

Why it matters: The proposal would replace an existing long-standing gasoline station use on a heavily traveled corner and could change site circulation and loading patterns for adjacent businesses. Neighbors asked for written agreements on access, and the board asked the applicant to meet with affected property owners and county/state agencies as needed before the board makes a final decision.