The controversy over a development on Monroe Avenue in Brighton continues, with a statement released Thursday by Danny Daniele, whose family has been trying to develop a plaza on that road, near where their restaurant previously operated.
The Daniele family wants to put in a retail plaza there, and the proposal for a Whole Foods grocery store has resulted in pushback from some people in the area over traffic and other concerns.
Now, Danny Daniele says that the developers plan to remove the possibility of putting in a Chick-Fil-A restaurant from that plaza.
He says his family had been working with that company, but says that with Wegmans “putting heavy-handed pressure on the town of Brighton to reduce traffic on Monroe Avenue it became quickly evident the town would not allow such a successful business as it would create too much traffic.”
Daniele says it would take too long and be too expensive to attempt approvals and permits for the Brighton location.
A spokesperson for Wegmans, Jo Natale, sent out this statement in response:
“We sent a letter to the Town of Brighton in May 2016 to share our concerns about traffic …..period. Why the developer, eight months later, would single out Wegmans when hundreds of residents and other businesses have been expressing these same concerns is perplexing. “
Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle is not taking a position on the plaza, but says the developers have to meet the requirements in the review process including the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
“Right now , the ball is in the Daniele’s court, they have to submit to us a supplemental draft environmental impact statement and once they get it , we will review it. If it’s complete, if it’s sufficient for public review, which is the standard under SEQR, we’ll set a public hearing on it.”
Moehle says all the input is taken into account, as a part of the review process.
