A former catering hall in Massapequa is looking to come back under new ownership.
The Manor East Catering Hall, which opened at 201 Jerusalem Ave in 1970, has hosted many types of events.
The hall closed in 2013, but the property owners are now seeking approval from the Town of Oyster Bay for a special-use permit that would bring them closer to reopening.
The new owners presented the board with their site plans during a public hearing on Tuesday, April 8.
Erik Snipas of the Greenberg Traurig law firm spoke on behalf of the applicants, Escube LLC, which bought the property in 2021. He said the Manor East Catering Hall has been internally damaged since its 2013 closing.
“The catering hall has gone from an active site to a site that has clearly seen better days,” he said while showing the town board the vacant site.
The new owners said they don’t plan on making any changes to the building and will revitalize the former catering hall.
Snipas said the previous owners of the catering hall had failed to get proper approvals from the town.
The current proposal calls for one parking lot that would exclusively provide valet parking, Snipas said. The lot would have a capacity of 70 cars, one more than the required amount. It calls for a maximum occupancy of 195 people.
According to Snipas, the original 1967 application called for a maximum occupancy of 450 people. The new owners said they are planning to have two smaller banquet rooms, which will reduce the number of guests and parking spots required.
Snipas said the applicants held two public meetings with local residents to ask for approval of the new catering hall: one on Feb. 5, 2023, and another on July 21, 2024. He added that several homes adjacent to the property had formally approved the catering hall’s reopening.
The applicants said they expect to have at most three parties per day.
The board had concerns about whether that would be enough space and the safety within the lot.
“There is going to be an overflow of vehicles,” Oyster Bay Town Council Member Laura Meier said.
Meier pointed out that the previous owners would use the parking lot across the street for extra parking. That property is now owned by a 7/11.
The applicants said they have discussed working with the dermatologist’s office next door in case extra parking is needed. That dermatologist is open six days a week.
The applicants also said the valet service would not park cars in the neighborhood.
Snipas said the applicants submitted their parking plans to the Massapequa and North Massapequa Fire Departments. Massapequa had responded to the submission, while North Massapequa had not responded at the time of the hearing. The board suggested it would be a “good idea” for the applicants to meet with the fire commissioners and chiefs.
“It’s our understanding that the Nassau County Planning Commission has issued a local determination, granting this board the sole jurisdiction over the application, implying that they have no issue with the approval of the application,” Michael Rant, the project engineer, said.
“We want to just make sure that we’re doing the right thing for the community and long term,” Councilmember Steve Labriola said.
The public comment period for the hearing is open until May 8.
