Ban of 24-hour businesses considered for parts of town in response to proposed Aquebogue 7-Eleven

Some businesses and gas stations outside the Route 58 corridor may soon no longer be allowed to operate between midnight and 5 a.m.

A ban on 24-hour operations for many retail businesses located outside the Route 58 corridor is supported by the town board, which is considering the ban in response to the possibility of a 7-Eleven setting up shop in an Aquebogue shopping center.

Riverhead Town rejected the 7-Eleven’s building permit application last year, but a State Supreme Court justice ruled in October that the national convenience store franchise should be permitted to open.

Although Riverhead is appealing the court’s decision, town board members say they want to make sure the store won’t remain open through the late-night hours, which was one of the major concerns voiced by Aquebogue residents who oppose the 7-Eleven.

“Even if we lose the appeal, this will not be a 24-hour operation,” Town Supervisor Sean Walter told residents at Tuesday’s town board meeting.

The ban would affect retail businesses within two zoning districts that include Polish Town and much of the Main Road in Aquebogue, Jamesport and Calverton.

The limitation would not apply to restaurants, bars or nightclubs, and it would not apply to businesses within the heavily commercialized Route 58 corridor.

It would, however, apply to many gas stations not located on Route 58, like the 24-hour Valero gas station in Jamesport. Councilman Jodi Giglio suggested today that the town erect signage directing people toward 24-hour gas stations located outside the area of the ban. “That way people won’t get stranded,” she said.

The restriction would follow in the footsteps of the 24-hour operation ban already enacted in Wading River, where stores have not been allowed to stay open past midnight since the 1987 hamlet study.

Wading River’s ban ironically prevented a 7-Eleven from opening there at the time, according to Sid Bail, president of the Wading River Civic Association.

“This is long overdue,” Bail said in an interview today. “In some ways it’s reactionary, but I think it would be a positive thing.”

“It’s a good compromise,” Dina Martin, a Riverhead resident who works in Aquebogue, said in an interview today. “If they want a 7-Eleven here badly enough, they should be willing to compromise on that.”

Aquebogue residents argued Tuesday that a 7-Eleven would be a “magnet for crime” in a residential area where there are no other stores open all night. During this morning’s work session, town board members seemed to agree with Tuesday’s comments.

“People tend to congregate in places that are open in the off hours,” Giglio said.

“We need to treat the rest of the town we treat Wading River,” Walter said.

The board plans to schedule a public hearing on this subject in the near future.