Politics & Government

Berland Moves to Put Building on Agenda

Public hearings at issue over future of former hotel building.

Updated: Councilwoman Susan Berland has asked the town attorney for a resolution for the March 8 Town Board meeting that would schedule a public hearing on a plan to put a TD Bank branch at the intersection of Fairview Street and New York Avenue.

The town's Historic Preservation Commission voted in January to recommend that the town grant historic status to the building, which currently houses the Advantage Title business. The 1920s-era building started out as a hotel, then served as a department store before Joe Willen bought the site.

But Fairview Street residents have been fighting the plan, citing the building's historical value, impact on the area considered a gateway to Huntington's downtown and concerns about traffic and safety. 

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The Town Board has 45 days from when it was notified of the commission's recommendation to decide whether to act; the commission voted on Jan. 24. The Zoning Board of Appeals already given its okay but the Planning Board has not yet approved the site plan.

Berland said she wanted to make sure the recommendation was considered but declined to say if she had made up her mind about the project.

Find out what's happening in Huntingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

TD Bank spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo said  Friday that the bank would "lease the site, which would include demolition to build our  environmentally friendly LEED certified building, which is a healthy place to bank and healthy place for our employees to work."

She also said, "We have worked to make sure the design of our store fits with the feel in the town.  TD Bank has worked closely with the Town and has gone through all the appropriate channels. SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office)  also had recently reaffirmed their original findings that the site is not historic and that the existing building no longer retains sufficient integrity to be registered as historic."


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