The Bayonne City Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to deny an application by The Boulevard 1224 LLC to add a small commercial kitchen and a walk‑in pharmacy inside the Tiger Deli at 1224 Kennedy Boulevard.

Attorney Peter Checianini, representing the tenants, told the board that a tax-assessor typo on one exhibit listed the address as 1225, but that the mailed notices went to the correct 200‑foot list. Checianini and the applicants said the tenants do not own the building and that the landlord would not consent to lot consolidation, an option the planning report had recommended as a condition of approval.

Planner Miss Krog described the roughly 7,100‑square‑foot site made up of two lots at the corner of West 55th Street and Kennedy Boulevard in the R2 zone. The applicants proposed to reconfigure interior space to add a small kitchen — showing an 8‑foot exhaust hood for cooking equipment — and a separate walk‑in pharmacy counter with its own entrance on the 55th Street side. The planner said variance relief was required to expand a preexisting nonconforming commercial use and requested relief for existing nonconformities including lot coverage, yards and signage. She noted the plan calls for a street tree subject to Hudson County approval.

Applicant Adeel Aslam, who said many of the deli’s customers are senior citizens, described the proposed kitchen as limited — “a fryer, a grill, fries, sandwiches, small, you know, just to, satisfy our local community,” — and said the pharmacy would be staffed by a certified pharmacist and technician and offer delivery to neighboring residents.

Board members pressed staff and the applicant on operational details, including whether the kitchen would include a fryer and whether the building’s utilities would need upgrades. The planner and counsel said the plans show required sinks and an 8‑foot hood; the parties agreed to clarify sign dimensions on the elevations after planners identified a discrepancy between sign‑detail sheets (23.5 feet vs. 27 feet on the West 55th frontage).

During closed deliberations commissioners repeatedly flagged parking and congestion. Several commissioners said the block is already congested and that adding kitchen service and a pharmacy could increase both pedestrian and vehicle traffic; the planning report also noted the auto repair shop’s existing demand for parking. The applicants’ counsel argued it would be unfair to require lot consolidation as a condition because the tenants do not control the landlord’s decision.

After returning from closed session the board took a vote. Commissioners recorded individual votes (Commissioner Cisse Galvin: no; Commissioner Frayn: aye; Commissioner Elgari/Elgarri: yes; Vice Chairman Panaro: no), and the chair announced the application was denied.

The board did not adopt additional conditions or approvals for the project at this meeting. A separate case on the agenda (Z‑25‑006, 78 West 16th Street) was carried to the Jan. 26, 2026 meeting at the applicant’s request.