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Town holds hearing on funeral home

Controversial application to be decided in 3 weeks

by Carole Volkman

In a hearing that lasted well over two hours, the Oyster Bay Zoning Board of Appeals heard from experts representing Anthony A. Capogna on his request for a variance to open a small funeral home without the extra 17 parking spaces mandated by Town code. The hearing was held Thursday, March 9.

Capogna, 30, contends that the 36 on-site spaces at his proposed facility, located at 5550 Merrick Road, bounded by East Shore Drive on the west and South Merrick Road on the south, is more than sufficient for the type of business he plans to run. But in case of overflow, he has made arrangements with Shane Realtors, owners of an office building at 5512 Merrick Road, 100 feet from the proposed funeral home, to use their parking lot after 6 p.m.

And the Nautilus Diner, across Merrick Road, also offered to handle the extra cars. In the rare cases that this is still insufficient, there is parking along the neighboring streets, he said.

"This will be a family-owned facility catering to small funerals," said Capogna, who plans to run the establishment with his wife, Nadine. He purchased the 100-foot by 195-foot property three years ago, which consisted of three buildings, all in a dilapidated state. His plan is to demolish two of the buildings and redesign and expand the third with a colonial motif.

The result will be a 3,750 square foot facility, with an office, lobby, lounge, visiting room and one chapel that will accommodate 50 people. If appropriate, the chapel can be divided into two smaller rooms, allowing the opportunity to hold two small funerals at a time. Capogna estimates that he will host from 65 to 100 funerals a year.

But the issue of firehouse safety, traffic and parking problems concerned some of the residents who spoke in opposition to Capogna’s parking proposals. Firefighter Richard Paul said he expects that people going into the funeral home would also park at the firehouse once Capogna’s parking lot is filled. That he said, would be a major problem for the volunteers who use those spots.

And Fred Gandolfo, president of the Nassau Shores Civic Association, with 1,560 families, presented flyers mailed to members, which contained a mail-back petition that read: "I am against the proposal to build, operate and/or maintain a business at the corner of Merrick Road and East Shore Drive, Massapequa, NY, with less then (sic) the required parking spaces as set forth in The Town of Oyster Bays (sic) building code." Gandolfo said he received 1,000 signed petitions back.

Unfortunately, said Gandolfo, there were two mistakes on the flyers. One was the wrong return zip code, which, he said, probably means that many signed petitions did not reach himv and were, consequently, not part of the total count.

The other was inclusion of erroneous information about the zoning request. The flyer exaggerated the number of parking spaces the funeral home would need to meet Town Code making the petition moot, said Capogna.

Other residents voiced concerns about children playing outside during afternoon visitation hours, danger crossing from Nautilus Diner to the funeral home and overflow parking on their streets.

Attorneys Michael Cincotta and Anthony Donofrio, who own and work in an office building close by, questioned the effect of Capogna’s construction on the structure of their building. Zoning board chairman Jack Libert suggested they get together with Capogna to discuss the situation.

Bolstering Capogna’s contention that his current plans, including parking, meet the necessary requirements, was a list of witnesses called by his attorney, Howard D. Avrutine of Syosset. They included an architect, traffic engineer, real estate professional and fire safety consultant.

"I think the town’s requirement is on the conservative side and overstates what the (parking) requirements should be," said traffic consultant Robert Eschbacher of Melville about the 53 spaces mandated by the town. "What we are trying to do is determine ways to accommodate the maximum number of cars." Eschbacher said his parking plans include the office building and Nautilus diner spaces, as well as parking along the adjacent streets, where permitted.

Additionally, noted Capogna and his experts, people often come to funerals with more than one person to a car, particularly at night, and visitors do not typically stay for long. During daytime visitation hours, there are usually fewer people. And the formation of funeral processions will be accomplished on site, so that they will not interrupt traffic in the street or prevent the firehouse, located across the street on Merrick Road and East Shore Drive, from responding to emergencies.

Fire safety consultant Robert Earley of Melville concurred: "There will be a negative impact on the firehouse," he said, adding that he sees no conflict between a funeral procession and the activities of the fire department.

The truth, said Capogna after the meeting, is that much of the opposition was organized by Travis Nicholson of the Massapequa Funeral Home in Massapequa Park, who is planning to build another facility close by. Contacted by phone, Nicholson declined to comment on those charges.

After the meeting, Capogna said he had tried to meet with the civic association, but they declined his invitation. When he met with the fire department, they told him their minds were made up, he said.

Those speaking on behalf of Capogna’s funeral home, including Massapequa residents and business people, said that the proposed facility will enhance the neighborhood, now besieged by dilapidated structures and unoccupied stores. "The town is falling apart in that area," said one Massapequa resident. "Here is a man willing to put up a building of that caliber," which, he said will not only beautify the area, but make Massapequa more appealing to prospective homeowners.

Capogna’s plan has the support of the Chamber of Commerce of the Massapequas, which recently spoke on the proposal saying it would be good for the area.

Also speaking on behalf of the variance was Judith Tyne of the Hofstra University Business Development Center, who said she was impressed by Capogna s business plan, which he devised while a student at the facility. And letters of support from business associations-including the Long Island Association and Nassau County Lion’s Club-were entered into the record. Avrutine also presented petitions containing more than 1,000 signatures in support of the business, gleaned from Capogna’s door-to-door canvassing efforts in nearby neighborhoods.

"My family and I have lived in the area all our lives," said Capogna, explaining why he wants to set up his establishment here. "I would like to have this opportunity to serve the people of Massapequa. Opening this facility is something I’ve always wanted to do."

Except for the current parking space issue, plans for the funeral home meet all town requirements, noted Avrutine. But because the zoning board feels there may be additional concerns about the parking situation and other matters, such as the Cincotta and Donofrio issue, they decided to keep the case open and reserve decision for three weeks.