Burger Company Blasted By Mt. Kisco Planning Chairman
The Mount Kisco Planning Board chairman harshly criticized the owner of the Westchester Burger Company last week for failing to comply with multiple conditions connected to the restaurant’s site plan approval.
Joseph Cosentino ordered village staff to investigate violations of the restaurant’s site plan, which he charged was modified without authorization. Cosentino stated that outdoor seating was improperly established, no landscaping plan has been submitted, repairs to a parking lot guard rail and the side exit haven’t been done and new lighting has yet to be installed at the site. All other aspects of site compliance also must be completed.
“It has been months without any of these items being addressed and the site has become a fiasco,” Cosentino said of the restaurant at 353 N. Bedford Rd.
The site plan for the eatery, which is owned by Vincent Corso, was approved by the planning board earlier this year.
In a written statement released by Cosentino last week, he said the outstanding issues could be rectified by the owner in about a week. The landscaping plan should be provided to the planning board in time for its next meeting on July 10, he said.
Along with the failure to complete items that were part of Westchester Burger Company’s approval, other problems have cropped up as well.
“Additionally, there are now issues with the dumpster,” Cosentino said. “With no enclosure, as required, the dumpster, trash cans and vats/cans for discarded oil and random, unauthorized debris are all fully exposed to the patrons, neighbors and rodents. The dumpster area is an atrocity.”
Cosentino requested Building Inspector Austin Cassidy examine the site and compare it to what is in the approval. If there are violations of the site plan, the inspector and the village’s code enforcement should “take appropriate action,” he said. Cosentino didn’t specify what action could be taken by the municipality.
A telephone message left last week for Corso was not returned.
Cosentino said he now regrets the approval of outdoor seating even on a limited basis. Before considering permanent authorization, he said the board will require written confirmation of maximum seating capacity, maximum physical occupancy of the building, including staff, and the intended number of outside seats.
“The planning board has been extremely lenient in that we honored (the restaurant’s) request to temporarily allow limited outdoor seating,” Cosentino wrote in his statement.
The chairman was also upset with what he felt was a lack of adequate parking at the restaurant, calling the current situation “out of control.”
“People are parking across the street, on adjoining properties and even on remote properties. This is a serious issue, as patrons are crossing a state highway near the crest of the hill without the benefit of any crosswalks. Westchester Burger is required to provide all parking on site.”
The sentiments were shared by Cosentino’s planning board colleagues.
“This has gone far enough,” Vice Chairman Anthony Sturniolo said. “There’s too many violations.”
