We must stay strong as a group protecting the safety of our children.

A 7-Eleven Store here would cheapen the character of Vernon Valley.The local tax payers should decide how many more commercial operations they want here!any 24 hour operation would get a NO Vote!Many middle school children cross this 5 way intersection.

Get a crossing guard. Not to mention McDonalds, Baskin Robbins, Dairy Barn, that decrepit gas station don't already cheapen the area? This 711 is not a corporate owned store. Who areshit you to deny an honest business person the opertunity to work and make a buck? Sad excuses... The new 711 in ENPT is nicer than most stores already in the corner strip mall already there.

When the Northport Fire Dept. substation (on Waterside just north of 25A) was under consideration, traffic was of great concern - - so much so that even the Substation met with resistance from the community due to fears over traffic problems. And that intersection is already a cause for concern. Add all the 7-11 traffic (which is constant come-and-go traffic with quick stops the norm) to the mix? One need only imagine the scenario of screaming fire trucks, commuters anxious to get their 7-11 coffee & rush off to work, customers pulling out of TD Bank, middle-schoolers headed off to school & local residents unfortunate enough to be caught in the mix to foresee disaster at that busy, congested, dangerous intersection. And, doesn’t the Nocello building have historical importance - - I seem to recall information about the building in local news. Now that TD Bank has taken the place of the old Bali Hai building, need we remove a precious example of historical value & what makes Northport special only to replace it with a 7-11-type building? It doesn’t take any great thought to realize that A. Safety of our children/residents, & B. Historical importance of the current building should take precedence over the rights of convenience stores. By the way, the “other” 7-11 is less than two minutes from the Waterside/25A location, let’s all patronize that store & keep safety/history ahead of convenience-store rights. Maybe we should “Occupy Nocellos”? ~Diane

Diane it is interesting you bring up the historical value of the building 7-11 wants that is located next ti TD Bank. Huntington Village had a similar problem (and lost). I hope you are able to make a difference.

Head west to Laurel Road. Make a left before Stop and Shop and find one of the best 711's about a mile and a half from Nocello's. We don't need another one in this town!!! This store is owned by a husband and wife who live right down the road from their store. They treat their customers like family. Let's give the business to them and save the corner from a store that is NOT NEEDED!! So many kids cross the street there, it would be a change for the worst.

Safety, safety, safety. This corner will have accidents in the coming years. Let's not add more.

The town board will down zone anything to get more Tax Dollars.

I wish everyone would banned together for a better cause - Full-Day Kindergarten

I am laughing at the absurdity of this part of the story: "The Town is currently being sued by 7-Eleven for these new regulations, which the company claims unfairly inhibit their ability to build a store". Those regulations DO inhibit a 24 hour convenience store, like a 7-11, because that is their intent. And those regulations are put in place by Town official and those Town officials are elected by the citizens of the Town. You may or may not like that type of representative government but that's what we have. How can 7-11 sue based on the premise that the local government doesn't want them ? The local government doesn't want 7-11 BECAUSE WE, THE LOCAL RESIDENTS, don't want them. There are lots of valid tangential reasons why the 7-11 shouldn't be approved such as traffic concerns and kids walking to school but the are secondary to the fact that the local residents, having spoken through their elected officials who write the regulations, don't want 7-11. Hey 7-11, take the hint and take a hike!

So I wonder how many people who oppose or opposed the 7-11, TD bank, Walgreens, Stop and Shop (when it was rebuilt), the CVS expansion, the office building across from Nocellos, and all of the other new retail establishments that "cheapen the character" of Northport actually boycott those stores when they open? I've been here for 20 years and seems like every new business that tries to open in Northport gets tied up in costly litigation and red tape, only to end up opening anyway and subsequently operating successfully. Seems like a huge waste of taxpayer money to fight these businesses, especially when the community who claims they don't want them, ends up making them successful.

The battle over this 7-11 is symbolic of all land use decisions on Long Island. We have to begin to view village and town zoning as a tool for special interests that want to restrict change or growth and stop what they believe are "less than suitable uses for their community." But in truth, those that use Government zoning to impose their views of acceptable land uses are in fact advocating for a socialist real estate market, holding property rights and free markets in contempt. Government control over the real estate market is antithetical to a free society and the outcome is a static market with constrained growth and exceedingly poor real estate values. Poor real estate values mean a poor selection and poor quality of housing, offices, warehouses, retail properties, etc, at high prices. A Government controlled real estate market results in a high cost of living and high cost of doing business. Something to think about next time community activists interfere with a real estate development in the name of property values, safety or preservation.

Here's the latest: http://patch.com/A-qWWc