45°
GREENBURGH, N.Y. The Cumberland Farms gas station and convenience store will return to Central Park Avenue in Greenburgh, pending the town board's approval of a permit.
At an Oct. 10 town board meeting, the Greenburgh Town Board approved a special permit application to allow Cumberland Farms to reopen on the 682 S. Central Park Ave. lot that has remained vacant for four years. It's a positive step in removing the "eyesore" at Central Park Avenue and Old Army Road, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said.
"Just having a boarded-up building on the roadway doesn't bode well for the town," Feiner said.
The move came after the town issued a zoning change that allows gas stations to file for a special permit within a six-month deadline, permitting them to reopen sites if they had been closed for more than six months. The former Greenburgh law listed gas stations as a legal, nonconforming use, barring them from reopening if they shut down for six months or longer.
The community does not oppose a new gas station and convenience store in the area, Edgemont Community Council Director Bob Bernstein said. But that the town board still needs to approve a separate convenience store permit, which the gas station special permit did not address. The convenience store's 24-hour operation near residential neighborhoods raises concerns about garbage, noise and loitering, he said.
"The application to reopen as both a gas station and a convenience store requires a special permit," said Bernstein, an attorney specialized in commercial litigation. "We've had another convenience store open on Central Park Avenue a 7-11 that has led to neighborhood complaints."
Though the convenience store permit has not been set on a town meeting agenda yet, Greenburgh Town Planner Garret Duquesne said an application has been filed and has received the planning board's recommendation.
The town board also set conditions on the project's approval to keep the gas station suitable for its adjoining residential districts. Cumberland Farms must install trees and bushes to act as a buffer, repair fencing along the sides of the property and replace damaged sidewalks.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Greenburgh and receive free news updates.
