17B mall project hits roadblock

Developer refuses to address violations

By FRITZ MAYER

BETHEL, NY — The shopping mall proposed for a lot behind the Citgo Station on Route 17B in Bethel appears to be plagued with numerous setbacks. On October 13, the planning board rebuffed the assertion from Jerry Orseck, the lawyer representing the developers, that the project did not need a special-use permit. The lawyer for the planning board, Kimberly Shaw Rae, said the project, which will include a supermarket, a sewer plant and other retail and commercial buildings totaling some 42,000 square feet of space, did require a special-use permit.

The board also rebuffed Orseck’s request to move the project forward by assuring his client, the Zaccari brothers who formerly owned the Citgo Station, that that board was not opposed to the project. The planning board chairman Dan Gettel responded that the board didn’t know enough details about the project to oppose it. Two weeks before the meeting, the developers submitted a new site plan that included larger retail stores than the previous plan.

The relationship between the board and Michael Zaccari has been strained over the past couple of years. There is an ongoing lawsuit between the two parties regarding a large tent on the property next to the Citgo Station that was operated as a retail outlet this past summer without a permit. There is also an outstanding violation regarding tall statues or monuments on the parcel.

At a meeting on July 14, according to the minutes, at one point Gettel said that the Zacarri brothers had said the monuments would be removed from the lot. Michael Zacarri said from a seat in the audience, “I’m not moving those monuments at all until we get some kind of preliminary approval. If we don’t get preliminary approval, I’ll build more statues.”

Another point of contention is whether or not the project will trigger the involvement of the NYS Department of Transportation. The plan calls for a new center turning lane and dedicated right turn lane on Route 17B. Orseck insisted that the agency “has zero to say about this.”

Regina Murdock, co-founder of the group Royce Road Alliance for Sustainability, said, however, that she had received correspondence from NYSDOT. She said because of the turning lanes, “approvals will definitely be required from that office.”