Reeves Park Residents Support Sound Avenue Repair Shop Expansion

A number of residents of Reeves Park expressed strong support at a public hearing Tuesday for a proposal by Rich Vlassic, the owner of R&K Precision Autoworks, to double the size of his repair shop on the north side of Sound Road at the intersection of Park Road.

“I know my neighbors well, and they are unanimous in their support of Rich and his expansion plans,” said Mike Foley, a self-described "second generation homeowner" in Reeves Park and a founding member of Sound Park Heights, the civic group representing the seaside community north of Sound Avenue.

“This guy’s doing the right thing, he’s done it for 25 years, the community likes him, and this is a guy that should be allowed to grow his business,” Foley said.

Another Reeves Park resident, Dorothy O’Hare, said, “If ever there was a site plan that should be approved, it is this.”

But not everyone was supportive at the hearing, required because what R&K proposes would constitute the expansion of a pre-existing, nonconforming use and the Town Board must vote on any proposal outside the land-use statutes established by the 2003 comprehensive master plan.

“If the Town Board were to grant this expansion, it would serve as an unwanted, unwise precedent that other current and proposed businesses along Sound Avenue would point to in order expand their operations,” said George Bartunek, the former town councilman who is now vice president of the North Fork Environmental Council.

“Such an action would not only reward this business for not bringing this property into conforming use over time but would provide additional loop holes developers could turn to in their fight to build along Sound Avenue,” Bartenuk said.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio also expressed concerns about creating a precedent.

“There are other people that have pre-existing, nonconforming uses who could come in and say, ‘we want to expand 100 because I get along with my neighbors or I don’t get along with my neighbors,’” Giglio said.

“Our job is to determine whether it will be precedent-setting,” said Giglio, noting that a 10 percent expansion would be allowed as a matter of right.

Dominique Mendez, co-founder of the Riverhead Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, said she would not object to a modest expansion of a non-conforming use, “but a 100 percent expansion is way too large for you guys to consider.”

James DeLucca, R&K’s architect on the project, stressed that the front footage of the structure, built in 1954, would not change, explaining that the western side of the shop would be demolished and replaced with an addition of equal size.

The expansion, he said, would involve adding 3,000 square feet to the back of the addition, something, DeLucca said, that would not be visible from Sound Avenue.

Councilman John Dunleavy made the same point, saying none of the added space would be seen from the street.

Dunleavy chaired the hearing in the absence of Supervisor Sean Walter who, Dunleavy said, was taking time off for a family emergency. Dunleavy said that written comments on the expansion plans could be submitted until Aug. 14.