The mayor and the board of trustees for the Incorporated Village of Mineola held a hearing last week to consider an application of architect Matthew S. Degiamo, representing Alamo car rental, located at 462 Jericho Turnpike, for a special use permit to legally operate their car rental business so that they can store 15 cars on the site.

Some residents of nearby White Road spoke out against the application, expressing feelings that it would continue to congest an already congested area that is filled with young children.

The parking lot of the shopping strip, which includes Creative Lighting at 460 Jericho Turnpike an a empty store, contains 28 spaces, four of which are taken up by containers used by Creative Lighting. There is a nearby Chinese restaurant. However, Burt Friedman, landlord for the shopping strip and owner of Creative Lighting, said the parking is not used by the Chinese restaurant.

Alamo proposed using seven or eight of the spaces in the lot and parking the rental cars in tandem or one in back of the other so that the spaces can accommodate 15 cars.

Based on questions asked by the mayor and the board of trustees, Alamo representatives testified that rentals are done in the back of the building. Mayor John P. Colbert and the board of trustees expressed concern that trucks making deliveries for Creative Lighting and flatbeds picking up or dropping off cars when they need to be replaced would use residential streets such as White Road, which residents say have a lot of children.

Some residents of White Road urged the board to deny the application, saying that the area is already congested from trucks making deliveries and cars parked on the street.

Mayor Colbert and the board reserved decision on the application. Trustee Jack Martins was not present and the application has to first go to the Nassau County Planning Commission for its recommendation.

Mayor Colbert said he will hold the record open on the hearing for 10 days.

The village board voted 4-0 to create the position of secretary for the village's board of zoning and appeals. The position will be a full-time, civil service position. The person who gets the position can also be a secretary or clerk in the building department. Trustee Jack Martins was not present ant the hearing and therefore did not vote.

Representatives of Winthrop-University Hospital appeared before the board of trustees for a special use permit to utilize its premises at 288 Old Country Road for a class of 30 students in association with Touro College. The lower level of the building is used as office space, but Winthrop needs it for classroom space for instruction and then clinical instruction for the students can be done at the hospital. Winthrop representatives also said the need for parking in the area and traffic would not increase because students would be required to park on the hospital grounds north of the Mineola Boulevard Bridge and then walk to the school. Some students also take the train.

The board reserved decision on the application.

The mayor and the village board also voted unanimously to induct three new members into the Mineola Fire Department. Lori Gayson will join Company #1 of the department; Brian Saks will join Company #2 and Crissy Lee will join Company #3. All three were members of the Mineola Junior Fire Department.

- Joe Rizza