North Babylon apartment plan altered to secure IDA funds, appease neighbors

Robert Curcio Jr. and other developers have changed their plans for a 40-unit apartment building next to a North Babylon elementary school in an effort to secure a $2.2 million tax break from the Babylon Industrial Development Agency, Newsday reported. Those who live in the town have opposed the plan to develop the 2.2-acre lot at 766-768 Deer Park Avenue, where Curcio is seeking to spend $16 million to build the Parkway Village Estates. The Town of Babylon Planning Board has been flooded with letters and hundreds of signatories on petitions urging it to reject the development. The lot, which is zoned for business use, requires a switch for multifamily residential development. Neighbors, however, have been concerned that the new apartment building would increase traffic in the school area and endanger students. In order to address some concerns, developers repositioned the proposed apartments and parking spaces, while also adding more space along the property line and extra parking spots to limit street parking. The developers also shrunk the size of a standalone recreation building from its original 3,000-square-foot design to a 1,133-square-foot unit. Newsday reported those changes and others were made after Curcio and his colleagues met with civic leaders and concerned neighbors, said a lawyer for the developers, Dan Baker of Long Island’s Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman. Curcio has applied for a 44 percent tax break from the Babylon IDA that if approved would save him $2.2 million over 20 years. [Newsday]