The Roslyn Savings Bank will be coming to Mineola. Last week, the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees granted approval to a project that involves building a Roslyn Savings Bank on the corner of Andrews Road and Jericho Turnpike south of Jericho.

The project required a special use permit for the business district area where the bank will be located and a permit for the residential area in back of the bank where a parking lot will be located.

The site is a former used car lot for Reese Buick and has been abandoned so representatives from Roslyn Savings Bank felt it would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Before construction can begin, however, there must be a cleanup of the area. A firm hired by the applicant found some volatile organic compounds more than 50 feet below the surface on the site. In addition, dry wells will be removed as well as any contents of the dry wells. Also, two magnetic areas indicating metalic substances were also found on the site, one of which could be a buried fence.

The cleanup of the site is said to be relatively minor and is expected to cost under $20,000.

Judging from the number of residents who showed up for the hearing, there didn't appear to be any objection to the bank. The architect's rendering of the site done by JRS Architect PC called for a six-foot high fence and many forms of shrubbery acting as a buffer between the residential area and the parking lot of the bank.

The bulk of the area for the project will be in back of the bank as the first 100 feet of the property would be where the bank would be located and 135 feet in back of the bank would be used for parking and traffic flow. There appears to be adequate parking for the bank as 17 spaces are required by village code and the project calls for 22. According to representatives from Roslyn Savings Bank, there would be six or seven employees at the bank at one time.

It appeared that the bank would give the village an opportunity to improve a corner that has become an eyesore with a solid establishment that has been a good neighbor in other communities. However, the project did concern the village board when it came to traffic.

Mayor John P. Colbert noted that the area contains three schools - the Jackson Avenue Elementary School, Mineola Middle School and Chaminade High School. The mayor and other members of the board were concerned that additional traffic created by the bank could jeopardize the safety of students walking to school in and around the Emory Road, Andrews Road and Jericho Turnpike areas. In addition, the board was concerned that cars exiting the bank parking lot on Andrews Road would make a left and proceed south on Andrews, increasing the traffic on the residential street.

In order to alleviate the problems, the village board voted to approve the application with certain conditions. One significant condition is that cars exiting the bank onto Jericho Turnpike can only make a right and head east where they would soon run into the Emory Road traffic light. Another condition is that cars exiting the bank parking lot onto Andrews Road can only make a right and head toward Jericho Turnpike so that there will not be additional traffic down Andrews.

As the plan stands, there is no entrance to the bank off Jericho Turnpike. The only entrance to the facility is on Andrews Road. There are two exits to the facility, one on Andrews, where vehicles can only make a right and head toward Jericho, and one on Jericho where vehicles can only make a right and head east on Jericho. In back of the bank is parking as well as a drive-thru on the east side.

Roslyn Savings Bank plans to have the bank built and open in 2003.

The village board also passed a local law that will require carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in all homes, condominiums or cooperatives in the village if such dwellings are sold or constructed after Jan. 1, 2003. In addition, the local law would pertain to any construction that would trigger the normal state code requiring a smoke detector and would also trigger the local village law requiring the carbon monoxide detector.

All members of the board came out in support of the law, designed to protect families from carbon monoxide, a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas that is potentially deadly.

The law requires one carbon monoxide detector that can be either a model that is plugged into a socket or one that is battery powered, although for new construction of residential dwellings, the carbon monoxide detector must be hard wired with a battery backup. Plug-ins, however, are suggested for all used. It is also suggested that carbon monoxide detectors be placed outside of sleeping areas.