Community Board 2 members last week voted down a rezoning application that would have permitted an auto dealership to convert an abandoned parcel on Northern Boulevard in Woodside into a Lincoln dealership.

In a motion filed by Community Board 2, members said the reason for the rejection was not that the proposed building would be too large, or that it would be out of character with the surrounding neighborhood – but simply that plans call for development of an auto dealership at the site. Board members said they oppose the existence of the auto industry on Northern Boulevard – and do not want any new dealerships or auto related businesses to open on Northern Boulevard within the confines of Community Board 2.

Board 2 member, Laura Shepard, Queens organizer for Transportation Alternatives, filed the motion to reject the application that was previously approved by the board by a vote of 17 “for” and 15 “against,” with one abstention.

Plans for the new Lincoln dealership called for the construction of a 2-story building at the site, featuring a showroom on the ground floor, accessory office space on the second floor and vehicle storage space in the cellar accessed by a “car elevator.” According to the plans, the first-floor showroom would not include space for vehicle repair or delivery staging areas.

Owners Michael Naclerio and Joseph Vultaggio acquired the parcel in 2020 for just under $2 million and are calling on the city to rezone the site from it current R5 (low density housing) designation to an R6B zone that would permit development of community uses such as the showroom and medium density residential housing at the site that has been vacant for decades.

The fact that Naclerio and Vultaggio own and operate a Lincoln dealership in Jamaica, Queens, became a point of contention with some board members when they learned that the proposed dealership would sell SUV’s at the site.

Shepard voiced sharp criticism of the applicants, alleging they park vehicles, including SUVs, on sidewalks outside the Jamaica dealership, and telling them that “11 out of 14 children under age 17 who have been killed in New York City in 2022, were killed by an SUV, pickup truck or van.”

Frank St. Jacques, an attorney for the owners, said the parcel is not desirable for housing because it faces the Northern Boulevard corridor. That claim was disputed by board members who argued that auto dealerships, body and repair shops lining Northern Boulevard are the real reason why new housing is considered undesirable in the area. Board members also argued that the CB2 district has “a greater need for housing than automobiles.”

Neighborhood residents who offered public comment just prior to a full board meeting argued that an auto dealership would only increase the threat imposed by climate change, that fossil fuels at the site of the showroom would be a detriment to the health of the planet and that the proposed showroom would not make New York City “a cleaner, greener place.”

The CB2 rejection is merely advisory as the plans make their way through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP,) which requires final approval by the City Planning Commission and the City Council before the mayor can sign off on the application.

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