The Floral Park Board of Trustees Tuesday night held public hearings for applications on special-use permits in the village for a martial arts studio and restaurant focused on serving unique pizzas.
Justin Lomagistro, owner of Kombative Edge Boxing & Martial Arts in New Hyde Park, said he is looking to return to his professional roots.
The Great Neck resident told the board he began training in the village in 2006 with one of his mentors before starting his own venture four years ago.
The business, if approved, will conduct classes during the week from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., training kids ages 5 to 12. On the weekends, classes will be taught from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Seminars and classes for adults will also be available during “off-hours” Lomagistro said, which is also the same time he would be conducting his personal-training sessions.
Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo said the studio would be an exciting and needed addition to the village.
“It’s great that we can add something for our kids to do,” Pombonyo said.
Lomagistro informed the board that his studio will have at least two employees at all times and that he has a professional background in working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The owner went into detail about the leadership program he offers and that he has a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in guidance counseling.
“It is good to be back,” Lomagistro said.
For Tulip Avenue, the board heard an application for Pizza Bar, which applicant Joseph Artusa said will seat up to 38 total patrons at a time, including 15 of them at a bar.
Artusa said construction, if approved, would take approximately four to six months to complete and his client, Giacomo Presta of Garden City, is intending to make the inside more lively than previous businesses by bringing a full-scale bar towards the front along with part of the kitchen.
Hours of operation would be noon to midnight and the business would be closed on Mondays. Artusa said he plans to have a soft opening centered around lunch hours before expanding into a noon opening.
Questions from the board centered around garbage pickup, food deliveries and whether or not there would be any live music provided.
Presta told the board deliveries will be going toward the basement in the rear of the building. He said he is still determining what is the most efficient method for food deliveries and that there will be no live music.
The board unanimously voted to reserve a decision on both applications.
In unrelated village news, the annual Belmont Stakes Street Fair is returning to the village on Tulip Avenue from Plainfield to Verbana Avenue. The event will take place on Friday, June 9 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. pending a review of the street plan from the village’s DPW and police department.
The Floral Park Fire Department is also getting a new pumper truck courtesy of a $250,000 grant from the state.
The next meeting for the Floral Park Board of Trustees will be on Wednesday, March 22.
