The Lindenwood Shopping Center is bustling.
A bolder fire lane and repainted parking lines were added to the center’s busy parking lot following a number of complaints from residents and elected officials. New, larger signage will be installed soon as well.
Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder, who pushed for clearer lines and direction in the shopping center, said he had only seen pictures of the new lot, but was pleased with how it looked.
“I appreciate the fact that they’re trying to do it the right way,” he said. “The Lindenwood Shopping Center and the management have invested a tremendous amount of money to rebuild, to redo the parking lot so it lasts and it keeps families safe for many years to come.”
Residents and shoppers had voiced problems with handicapped parking, drivers going the wrong way and shoppers parking their cars in the fire lane.
Joseph Trotta, the manager of the shopping center and a member of the Lindenwood Alliance, said the revamp of the lot, which cost an estimated $100,000, would be completely done once new signs were installed.
“Once the signs go up, we’ll hopefully see what effect that will have,” he said. “[We’re] putting all the ingredients together.”
Some new additions, however, were not as warmly welcome by the whole community.
The State Liquor Authority (SLA) approved on Tuesday, September 11 a planned liquor store for the Lindenwood Shopping Center, which had met reluctance by the area’s civic associations.
GNG Wine and Liquor was granted a liquor license after the owner’s primary hearing on August 29 had no result because of further investigation.
Members of the Lindenwood Alliance, as well as Community Board 10 worried that the liquor store was too close to P.S. 232 The Walter Ward School, which is across the street from the shopping center. At the civic’s August meeting, members who were opposed to the store signed individual letters to the SLA in opposition to the shop.
Along with the proximity to the school, residents were worried the store would attract an unruly crowd to the relatively quiet, residential area.
The liquor store’s owner, a liquor license specialist and representatives from the shopping center’s management company appeared before the community at the meeting to make their case for the store. The group told residents that the store would be clean, keep hours that were not late and was legally far enough from the school.
Following the license approval, the specialist, John Springer, said he and the owner were relieved the SLA approved the store. The owner, Springer said, was looking forward to the store opening next month and would be a good tenant.
Joann Ariola, president of the Alliance, said that the community would continue to keep an eye on the store and ensure its owner is living up to his promises.
“We will have an open relationship with the owners of that business,” she said. “If that business is not a good neighbor, it will not be patronized.”
