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BP station to remain on Northern Blvd.

BP station to remain on Northern Blvd.
By Nathan Duke

Community Board 11 approved the extension of a variance at a Bayside building that houses a BP service station and a 7-Eleven but on the condition that the site’s owners keep it clean.

Eric Palatnik, an attorney for the Gaseteria chain of gas stations, asked the board Monday to grant a 10-year extension to the property, which has been a station since 1954. The board rejected the proposal but voted 26-16 in favor of extending the station’s variance for five years. The BP station is at 218-01 Northern Blvd.

But CB 11 listed conditions for the site, such as trimming trees on the property and cleaning up litter at the station at the end of each day.

One neighbor of the gas station said the site consistently attracts cars with loud music and trash.

“The building is so monstrous,” resident Esther Lo said. “Beer bottles are often in the alley. In the summer, the stench emanating from the station is unbearable.”

Some board members said they wanted the station to have a 24-hour security guard, but its owners did not agree to that condition. But CB 11 approved the variance’s extension as long as the station adhered to the board’s other rules for the site.

“No management can stop a person from dropping trash on the property,” board member Victor Mimoni said. “These problems are questions of enforcement.”

At its meeting, CB 11 also bade farewell to Scott Hanover, who is leaving his position as deputy inspector for Bayside’s 111th Precinct to work as executive officer for the city Police Department’s Traffic Control Division.

Ronald Leyton will replace Hanover as the precinct’s deputy inspector.

“What made my job easier is that you care,” Hanover told the board’s members. “Some of you care more than others, but you care.”

The board also turned down a proposal to create a sidewalk restaurant, DiMaria’s Pizza, at 249th Street and Northern Boulevard in Little Neck. Neighbors of the site said the pizzeria would be adding noise and traffic to a completely residential street.

“The block is full of single-family residential homes,” resident Bob Nobile said. “It’s a pizzeria that will use paper plates and cups. Any promise of a proper cleanup would be unacceptable. It will do its business outdoors and will not be able to ask its patrons to be quiet. It will test the quality of the neighborhood.”

CB 11 voted 39-3 against the eatery’s application.

Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.