Mineola Village Board Approves Winston Project - Again

In 2008, the approved the application of Polimeni International, LLC for the construction of a nine-story, 285-unit condominium complex to be built on the north side of Old Country Road between Willis Avenue and Main Street. On Wednesday evening during their regular meeting at the , the Board again granted approval for the Winston since the project has . 

The proposed complex had become a point of contention between the Village of Mineola and the Village of Garden City. At the time,   and the Village Board believed that the complex would help to revitalize Mineola's downtown area. However, some Garden City residents as well as several Garden City Village officials expressed concern that the project was two dense and would exacerbate traffic in the area.

Normally, the Village of Mineola would be solely responsible for approving projects within its own boundaries. However, because the project was proposed as condominiums and involved a subdivision of property, according to the Nassau County charter, approval from the was required because of its proximity to the Mineola-Garden City border. 

Section 1610 of the County Charter states that if a subdivision of property occurs within 300 feet of the boundary of a municipality – in this case the Village of Garden City – the project must gain approval from that municipality's planning authority.

Since approval from the Garden City Planning Commission never came, Michael Polimeni, CEO and chairman of Polimeni International, changed his plans from a nine-story condominium complex to a six-story apartment complex in September. Since the dwellings are rental units, there is no subdivision of property and approval from Garden City would no longer be required. 

"The regrettable conduct of Garden City led to a reformulation of the applicant's plan so as to delete the requirement of subdivision approval from Garden City's Planning Commission," read the Village of Mineola's decision, approving the apartment complex. 

In accordance with the requirements of the , the Village of Mineola will be the recipient of public amenities from Polimeni International such as:

• The construction of a five-story (four stories above ground-level parking) senior affordable housing project, consisting of 36 condominium units on the north side of Front Street. 
• The construction of a parking garage of up to four stories containing up to 272 parking spaces on the north side of Third Street to relocate the current parking on the Front Street senior housing site. 
• Approximately 2,300 linear square feet of streetscape improvements along the entire block bounded on the north side of Old Country Road, east side of Main Street, south side of Third Street and west side of Willis Avenue, including the north side of Third Street and the east side of Main Street leading up to the Long Island Railroad tracks.
• The contribution of $3 million to the Village's trust fund, to be used by the Village of Mineola to make improvements to public amenities and improvements in other areas of the Village.