March 29, 2023 / By mobanmarket
DEER PARK, NY — A potential Deer Park Dominican restaurant which conflicted with community concerns that it’ll be a hookah lounge or gentleman’s club will wait a bit longer for a business permit.
The Town of Babylon Planning board confirmed with Patch that the record of Fogon, located at Grand Boulevard and Brandywine Drive, was not voted on Monday as previously planned, but extended to April 17.
The board said they are still waiting for a few departments to review revised plans submitted last week, a representative said. If all departmental comments have been addressed in the latest submission, then the Planning Board will vote on the application then. If there are further outstanding comments, the record may be extended again.
At a public hearing on March 6, several community members expressed concerns that the restaurant would serve as a hookah lounge and a gentleman’s club.
Some expressed apprehension about the late hours, and hoped noise wouldn’t disturb the community.
Sherry Levinson, of Deer Park, said at the meeting that someone at the restaurant previously told her of plans for a hookah lounge.
“We want a Dominican restaurant, we look forward to a Dominican restaurant in our neighborhood, because we don’t have many restaurants, so we welcome that,” said Levinson. “We just want to make sure that the community is safe.”
The board told Patch that the application is solely for a restaurant.
A former takeout pizzeria, application documents said it will make interior changes to the existing multi-tenant retail building, creating a 25 seat Dominican restaurant, along with site improvements.
The previous business was approved for 16 seats, and adding more seats requires the town planning board to grant a special exception.
Danny Collato, owner of Fogon, told Patch that she has done everything the board has asked of her.
At the March 6 meeting, Collato’s sister, Lilian Venus, said that her sister wishes to serve the community, not harm it.
“Our culture is very rich in a lot of things, and one of the main things is the food,” said Venus. “And that’s what my sister has been trying to get for two years.”
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