By Kelsey Durham
The city Board of Standards and Appeals has approved a variance allowing construction to move forward at the site of the former Scobee Diner in Little Neck.
A resolution was approved by the board Dec. 10 in a 4-0 vote, with Vice Chairman Christopher Collins absent from the meeting. The variance was recommended to the BSA in June after it was approved 24-18 by members of Community Board 11 and construction began in early August.
The former diner, at 252-29 Northern Blvd., will be demolished and a two-story office building is set to take its place, with CitiBank occupying the first floor and a dentist’s office slated to move into the second.
The approved variance gives the site’s new owner, Lion Bee Equities of Great Neck, permission to move the current parking lot to the back of the property and relocate a nearby stop for the QM3 bus.
The resolution passed by the BSA said Lion Bee Equities has agreed to “configure the curb cuts and parking spaces on the site so as to minimize the traffic impacts.” Traffic is expected to flow into the new property from Little Neck Parkway and exit onto Northern Boulevard.
Three public hearings were held after CB 11 approved the variance and passed it along to the BSA, one hearing per month from September to November. BSA Executive Director Jeff Mulligan said the board agreed after review that approval of the resolution did not pose a problem for the community.
The document said the project will “not alter the essential character of the neighborhood … and will not be detrimental to the public welfare.”
The BSA did not have a time line as to when the project is expected to be completed, but the variance will now move on to be reviewed by the city Department of Buildings as work continues.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
