It appeared to be the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two strikes of community opposition against 7‑Eleven in its bid to open a 24-hour convenience store at the long vacant corner of Whalley and Ramsdell. Then the corporation hit a home run. Now you’ll be able to buy a fresh banana, get Advil or baby formula, or even a Greyhound bus ticket at three in the morning — but not rolling papers.
By a vote of three to two New Haven Board of Zoning Appeals members overruled staff advice from the City Plan Department Tuesday night and permitted the store. It is slated to go into the former Tommy K’s video at Whalley and Ramsdell.
The scene at the BZA meeting Tuesday night was a dramatic contrast from two months ago. At that time widespread community concern about the store becoming a magnet for crime and harmingt quality of life on the commercial strip derailed the application.
Click here for a story that reflects those concerns.
Tuesday night Attorney Anthony Avallone pleaded guilty to 7‑Eleven having made a sub-par presentation in not answering the community’s concerns when it appeared before the BZA in November.
Avallone said that initial application had been withdrawn for being deficient.
The home run that the company hit involved first going to a the Westville-West Hills Management Team meeting and specifically answering the zoning code requirements unique to stores open between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Those include fulfilling a community need specifically with new products such as fresh produce, salads, sandwiches, and a large assortment of baby products otherwise not available beyond midnight. The other requirements include taking steps to reduce illegal activity by, for example, forswearing the sale of items favored by drug users, and in general minimizing adverse impact on the community.
Allan Appel Photo
7-Eleven New England manager Don Carin and Whalley franchisee Saurin Desai.
Reflecting what he had told the management team, Avallone Tuesday brought a phalanx to the zoning meeting of 7‑Eleven corporate staffers, including security guru John Power, as well as franchisee Saurin Desai. Desai in turn brought four of his employees from the 7‑Eleven store he operates in Naugatuck.
“You cannot operate a store like 7‑Eleven with people loitering in the parking lot. For every dollar you take in, you lose ten or 12,” Avallone contended.
In a mantra that he and others repeated, Avallone asserted, “The interests of the businessmen are the same as the community. That’s the assurance promises will be kept.”
Those promises include security enhancements such as lights and cameras that will link to the New Haven police department and in effect surveil not only the inside of the store but the entire corner.
If his place of business is not safe for his own employees, how will he keep them? Desai asked. He claimed that he and his wife took over a Naugatuck 7‑Eleven that was poorly run by an absentee franchiser and in three to four months solved the problems.
His store was cited as a national model among 7‑Elevens in the U.S., he claimed There are 44,000 7‑Elevens worldwide, with 700 new ones opening each year,
Company security pro Power said 7‑Eleven works with the police to solve problems before they grow more serious. A last resort, and a step rarely taken, is to hire private security guards. There is one other 7‑Eleven in New Haven, on Middletown Avenue, and there have been no incidents there in the last three years, he claimed.
West Rock Alderman Carlton Staggers sent a letter of support. In contrast to the last BZA meeting, where opposition was vociferous, little public opposition was expressed.
Beaver Hills/West Hills Alderwoman Angela Russell echoed several other speakers in commending 7‑Eleven’s presentation. While not overtly supporting the proposal, she suggested outreach should have gone beyond the management team.
The only strongly expressed opposition came from Sharon Jones, a co-chair of the Benton Street block watch. She questioned whether the 11 or 12 prospective employees will be local.
As to fresh bananas, Jones said that the Stop & Shop is not open all night “because they could not sell bananas at 11.” Any bananas sold at midnight will also be too expensive for many of the area residents to buy, such as those who live in nearby housing authority developments.
In the end, Avallone’s prediction that community opposition had been neutralized carried the night. Only commissioners Victor Fasano and the Chairwoman Pat King both voted no, citing insufficient evidence of the need for a 7‑Eleven.
If there is no appeal of the ruling, the build-out of the store could start in three weeks and the fresh bananas at midnight be available within 60 to 80 days.