Bartone Plaza Plan Moves Forward

The Bartone Plaza proposal moved forward Monday night when the agreed to send the plan to Nassau County’s planning commission for review.

The proposed three-story mix of apartments and retail space would take over a vacant warehouse, providing 115 apartments and several retail shops. It is designed to work as a transit-oriented district because of its proximity to the Farmingdale Long Island Rail Road station. An underground parking lot is designed to hold 172 vehicles.

Anthony Bartone, managing partner of Bartone Properties, LLC, said some of the businesses under consideration for the 17,000-foot retail space are a coffee shop, a bank and perhaps a frozen-yogurt place. "We’re not excluding a restaurant but our immediate uses are the service-oriented retailers," Bartone said.

Attorney Anthony Addeo, representing Bartone and BWC Realty Partners LLC, which is behind the project, listed a series of amenties he said the owners would provide.

Village attorney Kevin Walsh said the incentives were in exchange for allowing more density for the project.

They included widening streets and installing parking meters whose revenues will go to the village, brick walkways, removal and burial of utility poles, trees and landscaping, and a pocket park.

In its vote, the board agreed that it did not perceive an adverse environmental impact and turned the next phase of the approval process over to the county. 

Addeo said studies indicate that the project will create 85 construction jobs, and another 62 permanent jobs and generate about $400,000 in sales tax revenue for the village.

"We felt very positive, with a lot of good comments," Bartone said after the meeting. "Very enthusiastic."

The project won the Vision Long Island "Revitalizing Communities” award.

The village hearing was continued to May 7.