Say NO to Proposed 7-Eleven Store at 260 Plandome Road – Near Schools, Manhasset LIRR Train Station, and Residential Areas

WHEREAS, 7-Eleven Incorporated, a Dallas-based international convenience store operator and franchise company, has applied to open a location at 260 Plandome Road in Manhasset. Residents believe this would significantly and negatively impact the quality of life in our community for the following reasons:

• Site will offer beer, wine, tobacco and vaping products – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The site is in close proximity to the Manhasset Secondary School and directly abuts a residential neighborhood, and will provide convenient, continuous access to these dangerous products to young adults. With heightened concern over teen/young adult use of alcohol, tobacco and vaping – we are all well aware of the risks of alcohol and tobacco, and studies have reported up to 25% usage rate of vaping products amongst 12th graders, with risks of cancer, lung injury and 60 deaths reported as of January 2020 (see note 1). 7-Eleven has repeatedly violated tobacco selling laws, with one in four stores selling to kids (see note 2) – residents do not want any additional access to these products in Manhasset.
• Traffic disruption will be significant. The proposed 7-Eleven would have an entrance/exit connecting to Plandome Road, including a legal left turn out of the lot into the southbound lane, which would further snarl the already congested Plandome Road – particularly at rush hour or when school buses are dropping off / picking up at Manhasset Secondary School. Given the short average time a customer spends in a 7-Eleven, the limited size of the lot (only 7 parking spaces), the resulting constant coming and going, as well as the “two to three box truck deliveries per day” (see note 3), residents anticipate an intolerable addition to Plandome Road traffic and resulting disruption to our town.
• Neighborhood disruption will be substantial. The proposed 7-Eleven would have an entrance from Hillcrest Avenue to the east (no exit), increasing traffic in the surrounding neighborhood for those seeking to access the 7-11 from the east, or to cut through the 7-Eleven lot to Plandome Road. Many would likely go the wrong way down one-way Hillcrest Avenue, presenting a danger to those who live on the block. Because of this disruption and the danger it presents, residents do not want a site that includes an entrance (one way or otherwise) from Hillcrest Avenue.
• The proposed site provides unnecessary services: Manhasset already has a 24/7 Mobile gas station and convenience store located on 25-A. Residents do not believe another 24/7 convenience store is needed, especially on congested Plandome Road.

Note 1: 5 Vaping Facts You Need to Know, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Note 2: Inconvenient Probem: One in four 7-Eleven stores caught selling tobacco to kids
Note 3: Per Andrea Curto, counsel representing 7-Eleven, and 7-Eleven regional corporate representatives

WE THE UNDERSIGNED, as concerned Town of North Hempstead residents, parents, homeowners, and organization members, hereby petition our elected officials to advocate for the below, and the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to:

1. Reject the application for Conditional Use Permit (Retail Food Use) for this site; and
2. Require that the public hearing on this matter be held well in advance of the BZA's or any other county entity's review of the application, and that notice for the public hearing be posted and circulated widely throughout Manhasset and to neighboring communities at least one week in advance.