Traffic along Montauk Highway and Little East Neck Road in Babylon is causing problems for residents living in Twin Oaks and they say a plan to allow high-use tenants in the old Barbizon building at that intersection will only make the traffic worse.

The owner of 8 Little East Neck Road, otherwise known locally as the old Barbizon Building at the intersection of Montauk Highway, appeared before the Babylon Board of Appeals July 19, asking for permission to lease 1,200 square feet of office space in the 7,600 square foot building to a real estate firm, and to permit up to 50 percent of his tenants to have Sunday office hours. The building, zoned Residence-O permits only "low volume" office use and prohibits Sunday hours, except with special permission by the Board of Appeals.

"It is very difficult for me to operate this way; to be required to come before this board every time I have a tenant who wants to rent space in my building," said Steve Macchio, the owner. "That is why I am asking for some flexibility to rent, perhaps, 50 percent of my building to tenants who would require some Sunday hours."

Macchio, who purchased the building a year ago and renovated it, said it is costing him $70,000 a year for taxes and upkeep on the building. "The issue is I have a building here that has to be rented and it is difficult for a prospective tenant to be told it will take three months to get the Village’s approval for them to move in."

In fact, the Residence-O zoning permits low volume use by such professionals as engineers, certified public accountants, some physicians, dentists and lawyers and others whose practices do not generate continuous traffic. Bruce Humenik, the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, said the real estate operation did not fall within that category, nor did the Sunday hours requested.

"We want to maintain some control over the kind of businesses that go in there," Humenik told Macchio, asking him if he was aware of the restrictions at the time he purchased the site. "We had an applicant before us within the last two years who went through this approval process and then backed out because of the restrictions, so there was a precedent here that we had concerns about Sunday [hours] in that building."

"If you restrict Sunday hours, my client loses a tenant," said Seymour Pienkny, an attorney from John Street, Babylon, who was representing Macchio.

The potential tenant, Kathy Durler, currently has a smaller office in the Village and said she would use the 1,200 square feet for approximately 8 to 10 agents.

"With computers and fax machines, most of them work from their homes and I do not anticipate many people coming and going, especially on Sundays when they will be out showing houses," said Durler.

But even a few additional cars raised the fears and concerns of residents living on Perridale Court, just north of the complex, who said their street has become a main thoroughfare for drivers who look to avoid the light at Montauk Highway and Little East Neck Road.

"The traffic is out of control," said one resident who asked that her name not be used. "I have lived there 35 years and during that time we have had to endure the telephone company trucks and we have become a detour for construction workers, a detour for accidents and a detour for anyone who knows our area and knows they can avoid the light on Montauk Highway by going down our street—and they do it," she said.

Others offered similar concerns. Vincent Massa said he’d like to see the curb cut exiting on to Perridale Court closed off instead of installing a no left hand turn sign, "which is not going to deter people.

"We are not going to have police sit out there to make sure no one makes the turn," he said.

Another resident who lives on Tappan Avenue, said the problem will further be exasperated by the Multiplex theater which is likely to be built on Montauk Highway, just west of the Village. "If that goes in, it is going to cause us even more problems," she said.

Humenik said he believed the problems reported by the residents went beyond the board’s jurisdiction and the issues related to the application. And, he questioned whether closing off Perridale Court would improve or worsen traffic conditions on that residential street. "If nothing else, what we are uncovering here is that this issue goes far beyond this application and has been around for a long time and they need to be addressed with the Village Board," he told residents.

Bill McShane, of Nehring Avenue, took a middle of the road approach saying he believed the building had to be utilized, but that the Zoning Board should retain control over the kind of tenants renting space there to ensure the low-volume use as defined under the code. And he suggested that Perridale Court be not only closed off to traffic from the building’s parking lot, but that it be made into a dead-end street.

"I support this proposal to the extent that I support the tenant’s objectives, but I am against anything that will further erode the safety or our neighborhood which is at critical levels," he said.

Support for the proposal came from a resident of Fire Island Avenue, David Bochentino and Ed Clark, a resident of Peninsula Drive. "I’d like to see an improvement on Montauk Highway and don’t feel a real estate office is going to be detrimental to the village," said Clark.

The board reserved decision on the matter. In addition it heard applications for:

•renewal of a special use permit for Babylon Child Care, 209 Little East Neck Rd., Babylon to continue its operation at that location;

•construction of two front porches; one at 44 Nehring Avenue and the other at 37 Nehring Avenue;

•permission to construct a shed and locate it in a front yard at 115 Araca Rd.;

The board also tabled an application of Budget Estates, 325 Sunrise Hwy., North Lindenhurst, a contract vendee, which is seeking permission to construct a single-family home on a substandard parcel on Frederick Avenue as part of a subdivision application.

The board has up to 60 days from the date of the hearings within which to render its decisions on the above matters.