Oyster Bay seeks eminent domain to seize parking lot near Hicksville LIRR station

Oyster Bay wants to seize a parking lot near the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station through eminent domain to prevent its use for another purpose.

At their Nov. 16 meeting, the town board voted to condemn 47 W. Barclay St., at the corner of Wyckoff Street. The town operates 65 spots at the half-acre parking lot under a license with an affiliate of Hicksville-based Spiegel Associates, a property management and development firm.

The parking lot provides spaces that are needed by commuters at the train station, said the town’s environmental planning consultant, John Ellsworth, of Melville-based Nelson, Pope & Voorhis LLC, at an August hearing on the use of eminent domain to take the property.

"The town's proposal to acquire the site will ensure that the important public parking use of the site can continue, and that the public purpose and benefits discussed … can be realized indefinitely into the future," Ellsworth said, according to a transcript of the Aug. 17 hearing.

The addition of more parking spaces is a key component of Oyster Bay's revitalization effort for Hicksville's downtown. So far, negotiations between Oyster Bay and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build parking garages have failed.

The owners of the West Barclay Street property in question have not filed any plans with the town to develop it, town spokesman Brian Nevin said.

"While no plans were submitted, there’s uncertainty over the property because several family members want to sell and several do not," Nevin said.

The town expects to pay $800,000 for the property, he said. If the eminent domain effort succeeds in court, the property's ultimate price would be determined by a judge.

Though the town operates the parking lot under a license with 25 NB LLC, an affiliate of Spiegel Associates, property records show it is owned by three California-based heirs of Louis Caruso, who died in 2011. The town has licensed the property for parking since 2008, according to town records.

A 2019 license agreement expired at the end of 2020. The town board retroactively approved a new one-year license from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 for $50,439 at its July 13 meeting.

Spiegel Associates did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment.