completed before
Lowe
Home Depot planning remodel; criticized for cluttering sidewalk
Work will be
completed before
Lowe’s opens
BY SHERRY CONOHAN
Staff Writer
WEST LONG BRANCH — Home Depot’s practice of putting merchandise out for display on the sidewalk in front of its store in the Consumer Centre on Route 36 came under attack when it sought approvals from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to remodel the huge home center.
The board, in the end, granted the approvals at its July 22 meeting despite a complaint by Jim Apostolacus of North Linden Avenue about the danger he saw in clogging the sidewalk with merchandise, forcing shoppers to walk in traffic lanes.
Home Depot’s remodeling job, scheduled to be completed by Dec. 15, comes as Lowe’s Home Centers is gearing up to build a new store on Route 35 in Eatontown, which is expected to open in January.
Apostolacus said he saw a baby and mother almost get hit by a vehicle in front of Home Depot because they were forced to walk on the shopping center’s internal driveway.
Board Chairman Rocco Christopher told Apostolacus that was an enforcement issue, not connected to the application in front of the board, and urged him to take his complaint to zoning officer Joseph Gallo.
Apostolacus said he had done just that, but to no avail.
"You guys need to be more responsible," he told the board members.
Bonnie Heard, of T&M Associates, the borough’s engineering firm, said merchandise displays aren’t supposed to extend out more than 3 feet from the structure.
Board member Bruce Gassman said even though the issue of where the merchandise is displayed has nothing to do with the application from Home Depot, he thought the company should address the issue brought up by Apostolacus.
Laurence I. Rothstein, the lawyer from Giordano Halleran & Ciesla, of Middletown, representing Home Depot, vigorously defended his client and said he didn’t want it insinuated that Home Depot doesn’t care about the safety of customers because "it’s just not accurate." He noted an assistant manager of the Consumer Centre store, Joe Modugno, was present at the meeting and assured the board members he would check on the complaint and report it.
The board then granted three approvals that Home Depot requested:
• The store may use its seasonal sales tent during remodeling, but no later than Dec. 15. The tent previously was approved by a resolution adopted on April 23, 1998, for use for four weeks during May and June and for four weeks during August and September.
Rothstein reported that Home Depot did not use the seasonal tent in May and June of this year.
• The home center may store construction materials and equipment at the rear of the building, outside of fire lanes and loading zones, during the remodeling.
• The store may install two "Welcome to Our Remodel" banners, 38 feet wide and 5 feet high, in front of the store — one by the entrance and one by the exit — during the remodeling until Dec. 15.

