Residents on a dead-end street in Glenville continue to raise concerns about an overflow of parking outside a local dentist office.
At the corner of a busy commercial corridor and a quiet residential street, a dentist's office is giving some neighbors a toothache.
The building that is home to Glenville Smiles was constructed two years ago on state Route 50. But its paved lot is often filled during business hours, and, according to neighbors, patients and employees frequently park their vehicles on the street near their homes.
Joey and Ashley Benincasa are concerned that children who wait for the bus are endangered by traffic entering the street from Route 50.
“There’s like only a slim margin of a car going too far to the right or too far to the left where it’s either going to get a kid or an adult that’s waiting for a kid on the bus just somebody just walking up and down the street. My main concern is that the amount of traffic that has ramped up over probably the past year,” Joey Benincasa said.
Ashley Benincasa says snowbanks during the winter make the roadway even narrower.
“Standing down there at the bus stop it’s like harrowing because people don’t expect small children to be at the top of the street and they have getting to their appointment on time,” she said.
Neighbor Aleshia Rymski says employees parking on the street makes it difficult for medical transport vans to pick up her disabled sister.
“If my sister can’t be picked up for an appointment, if the bus, when I talked to them yesterday if they come down and they can’t get through they will not pick her up,” she said.
Rymski and the Benincasas have brought their concerns to neighbor and longtime Lincoln Drive resident Sandy Ruggiero, who has attempted to get answers from the town about why the overflow parking is being tolerated in the residential area.
Ruggiero, who has submitted multiple complaints, photographs, FOIL requests, and petitions, has her own reason for why she wants something done.
“I'm not affected by the safety issue of the children. But I am affected by the fact that emergency vehicles for fire rescue or for an ambulance can’t get down this damn street because of the fact that they’re parking on here,” she said.
Dr. Karamdeep Singh owns Glenville Smiles and the building itself, and rents half of the building to another dental practice, Empire Oral Maxillofacial Surgery.
Dr. Singh, who declined to be interviewed for this story, submitted applications to the town's Zoning Board of Appeals for two area variances to expand the parking lot for nine new spaces, once in 2020, before the current building was constructed after a fire destroyed his office's original home, and again in 2024.
According to the minutes from the initial Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in August 2020, members of the board denied Dr. Singh’s first variance application because it would result in parking spaces being closer than 25 feet to the street, which is against Town Code.
Board members denied to rehear the second request for a variation in April 2024.
At the time, 20 residents on the street, including the Benincasas, Rymski and Ruggiero, signed a petition opposing Dr. Singh’s second variance application. Ruggiero collected the signatures and submitted the petition.
Speaking on behalf of Dr. Singh during the April 2024 ZBA meeting, Dave Kimmer from ABD Engineering explained the original site plan approved for the building in 2020 showed five examination rooms on Dr. Singh’s side of the building, while the other half of the building was left without a tenant, as one had not yet been found.
Kimmer said the number of examination rooms had increased to six on Dr. Singh’s side of the building and the adjoining practice was operating four.
According to Glenville Town Code, a medical practice operating in the town must have two and a half parking spaces per examination room.
The building’s parking lot currently has 19.
Acting Town Supervisor Robert Kirkham Jr., a former Town Board member, says he first became aware of the residents’ concerns shortly after he became supervisor last August.
Kirkham says he understands the residents’ concerns, but says the business has enough parking. He maintains the building has a total of nine examination rooms.
“According to the COs that were issued and the number of spaces that are needed for the way that they are currently operating there are ample spaces,” he said.
Ruggiero contends there are not enough parking spaces.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, so six times 2.5 is 15 spots. He had 19 minus 15 that only left him four for the tenant,” she said.
Kirkham wants a solution that works for everyone.
“We are going to continue to seek a resolution for the residents and for the doctor who is trying to operate a good business in our community so both parties have rights in our community and we want to make sure that we address those in a professional manner,” he said.
Dr. Singh recently submitted a third application to expand the parking lot. If approved, it would add six parking spaces to the lot.
A Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting is scheduled for Monday to review the application.
