At its most recent Village Hall meeting, the Roslyn Board of Trustees held a site review hearing concerning a car wash that Rallye Motors hopes to construct on their lot at 1600 Old Northern Blvd.

Local residents, most of them from East Hills, showed up to voice opposition, mostly on grounds of traffic and noise levels, plus concerns over falling real estate values on Appletree Lane, the street that would be most affected by the car wash.

Attorneys for Rallye described the car wash as a 1,250 sq. ft. building to the rear of the private garage maintenance. The car wash would be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

According to Jeffrey Stadler, an attorney for Rallye, the Roslyn Board of Zoning Appeals adopted three conditions for the construction of the car wash, all of which have been met. They included hours of operation, no signage, and no commercial usage for the car wash.

Deputy Mayor Nolan Myerson noted that the major problem with the car wash is the fact that it would be built into a residential area, not in Roslyn, but in East Hills.

Mr. Stadler replied that there would be a dumpster between the car wash and the wall separating the Rallye property from Appletree Lane in East Hills. Residents, he said, won't be able to see the car wash. The wall, Mr. Stadler added, is 40 ft. high.

When Deputy Mayor Myerson suggested the car wash be built on the east side of the Rallye building, Mr. Stadler claimed the company would lose parking spaces if it was constructed there.

Noting that up to 1,000 cars would be washed per day at the Rallye site, Mayor Janet Galante expressed her own concern about increased water usage. Mr. Stadler only remarked that there was no opposition from the BZA to the water situation.

East Hills residents who attended the meeting had questions not only about the noise level and property values, but in general, a lack of peace and quiet that the car wash might bring.

In response to concerns over the noise level, Mr. Stadler reiterated the Rallye car wash would not be the same as a commercial one. It would not be open to the public and would only service one car at a time.

The strongest opposition voice came from Linda Nathanson, a trustee for the Village of East Hills and also a resident of Appletree Lane. Ms. Nathanson said she was representing 14 other Appletree homeowners.

Rallye, she said, has been, over the years, a "fairly good neighbor" to East Hills residents. In the past, their projects had not encroached upon the homeowners on Appletree Lane.

The car wash, she claimed, would change all that. Currently, residents hear noise "24 hours a day" from the Rallye site, due mostly to "100 trucks a day" entering and leaving the car lot.

"The noise is not fair," Ms. Nathanson said, adding that Rallye's neighbors are entitled to the "quiet enjoyment of our homes."

In addition, real estate values on Appletree, Ms. Nathanson claimed, are now "worth nothing." Combined with noise from a local train station and other sources, the increased noise a car wash might bring would simply be too much for Appletree residents, Ms. Nathanson added.

In short, local homeowners, Ms. Nathanson said, deserve "a little peace so we can enjoy our backyards." She suggested that Rallye construct its car wash on Northern Boulevard instead.

The BOT will take up this issue again at its July 20 meeting.