By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
The Francis X. Hatton Funeral Home, a presence on Bell Boulevard for nearly 70 years, is set to close its doors, one of its owners said Monday.
Dennis M. Hatton Sr., whose father opened his first funeral home on Bell Boulevard in 1936, said the building at 38th Avenue would be sold to the real estate group that bought the old Bayside Movie Theatre building.
Hatton said the group, headed by attorney Terry Triades and Herb Suib, had plans to turn the funeral home into an office building. Triades and Suib could not be reached as of press time Tuesday.
“It’s just too expensive to keep it running,” said Hatton of his business. “There’s room enough for two funeral homes in town, but not three.”
Hatton said his business would be taken over by the Harden Funeral Home on Northern Boulevard. The Lloyd Home on 39th Avenue is Bayside’s other major funeral home.
Hatton would not disclose the sale price of either his building or the business, but he said his expenses had gotten too high.
“The taxes and everything just kept going up and up and up,” said Hatton, whose property tax bill jumped by $12,000 over last year’s.
Hatton said his brother Robert, who runs the funeral home with him, wanted to retire and that neither his brother’s nor his own children were interested in continuing the business.
“This is a good time to do what we did,” said Hatton.
Harden general manager Louis Bruno said the Hatton sign would be added to the Harden exterior at 208-17 Northern Blvd. once the transition was finalized. Harden’s proprietor, Fred Passarella, also owns the Frederick Funeral Home at 192-15 Northern Blvd.
“It’s almost there,” said Bruno. “We felt we had enough years’ experience to take over what they had developed through the years.”
Bruno said the relatively new Harden building was wheelchair-accessible, a feature the Hatton facility lacked.
“They were looking for an opportunity that could take care of their families,” said Bruno.
Hatton, 52, did not know what he would do after closing his family’s funeral home.
“It’s time for a change,” he said. “Being in this business for 30 years is like being in another for 50.”
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
