Business & Tech

Fairway Needs Variance for Signs at Douglaston Chain Store

Market Expected to Open in Spring or Summer at Shopping Plaza

Fairway Market must get permission from the city to put up two signs at the site of its upcoming Douglaston chain store that are larger than zoning laws allow, Community Board 11 District Manager Susan Seinfeld said.

But the process would not likely prevent the long-awaited chain store from opening during the first half of 2011, she said.

"As long as they have the proper permits, they can keep going," Seinfeld said.

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Northeast Queens residents have long been awaiting the market's debut at Douglaston Plaza Shopping Center. An extensive renovation of its building, which was previously occupied by a Waldbaum's chain store, has delayed Fairway from opening this year.

Now, Fairway must obtain a variance from the city's Board of Standards and Appeals to place two signs bearing the market's name that are larger than zoning in the community allows.

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CB 11 will hold a public hearing on the matter at its Jan. 3 meeting. But Seinfeld said she did not expect the market's opening would be delayed any further.

"Everyone is so anxious for the Fairway to come in," she said. "I think the board will have more questions about when they are opening than about the signs."

One of the signs would be on the store's front façade, while a second one would be placed above its handicapped-accessible elevator.

Electrical work at the store was completed in August, but the process of obtaining permits from the Board of Standards and Appeals prevented the high-end market from opening last spring as originally planned.

The market, which will be located in the plaza at 242-02 61st Ave., is now expected to open in the spring or early summer.

"People are still looking forward to it, but there's some frustration about why it's taking so long," said Eliott Socci, president of the Douglaston Civic Association, of the market.

Jeffrey Chester, an attorney for Fairway, said the market's renovation was running a little behind due to plumbing issues.

Once it opens, the market will operate every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Chester said.

Douglaston residents have been supportive of the market's decision to open in the community. Seniors, many of whom do not have cars, living near the Douglaston Plaza Shopping Center must currently travel one mile to Stop & Shop, which is the closest grocery store.

Fairway is an upscale supermarket chain that is based in Manhattan's Upper West Side. Each market includes its own baker as well as kosher and non-kosher butchers. The stores also have a large selection of cheese, coffee, organic food and grocery items.

Its founder, Nathan Glickberg, first operated Fairway as a fruit and vegetable stand at the corner of Broadway and West 74th Street in 1940. The chain now operates markets in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey.

The Douglaston site would be its first in Queens.


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