A flier has been passed around East Meadow to try and dissuade locals from supporting the of Sonic, the popular fast food chain that's yet to open its doors in Nassau County.
The letter, which is titled "Protect the Aesthetic Integrity of Your Community and Your Home Values, Stop Sonic Drive Thru from Opening in East Meadow Plaza," highlights negative reactions that the writer, who was not disclosed, believes will have on the local community.
Here are some of the points:
- High capacity parking and off-street parking creating transient traffic at all hours and people in the parking lot at all times of night. This will make this center, which is already suffering from vagrancy, even more vulnerable.
- The center has no security and has not done any maintenance in ages. Who will patrol to be sure these customers are not in area streets parked in front of residences?
- More must be done to enhance this center that is a focal point of our community. Before they even consider a fast food drive thru where people eat in their cars in a parking lot, they should consider more stable tenants that can bring value to the community. The amount of jobs a drive thru, eat in the parking lot and loiter establishment will bring, is negligible.
Sonic officials released a statement in response to the flier, listed below:
"SONIC has been delighting customers for nearly 60 years and has over 3,500 drive-ins throughout the country. The East Meadow SONIC will be a typical SONIC Drive-In with drive-in stalls, a patio and drive-thru. We hope that our investment in the SONIC will enhance the entire center.
Our signature Carhop service is part of what differentiates SONIC from other restaurants; our crew members look forward to getting to know their customers’ favorite menu items. As with every SONIC opening, we develop a traffic management plan in coordination with local officials to ensure there is a constant flow and traffic is managed without disrupting the surrounding area. High traffic volume is usually a short-term issue.
SONIC has been a good community partner in North Babylon. We have received tremendous support from local businesses and residents, and our Limeades for Learning Program, which funds teacher-requested learning projects at local schools, was a great success in North Babylon.
East Meadow is an excellent location and a great community to build another drive-in. We look forward to providing new jobs for community residents and increasing the tax base to better the community. SONIC is excited at the opportunity to become an East Meadow community partner.
An adjournment to the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce at the recent on Jan. 25. The new hearing date is set for March 7 at 2 p.m. at the town’s Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion in Hempstead.
Do you agree with the points made in this document or are you excited for the potential of Sonic coming to East Meadow? Tell us in the comments.
