Fire Site Buyer Plans Stores, Apartments In Village

By Janee Law

jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Garden City-based developer Michael Ambrosino and his wife, Jeanine, stand outside of 425 New York Ave. Ambrosino plans to construct a three-story mixed-use building, which is depicted in a rendering, inset.

The site of a March 2014 fire in downtown Huntington has been purchased for $2 million, and plans for the property now include 10 new apartments.

The former two-story building at 425 New York Ave. was the origin of a fire that tore through a building, destroying, the former owner’s law office and a yoga studio. The blaze also damaged neighboring businesses Red restaurant and Fado. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The property was purchased by Garden City-based developer Michael Ambrosino last February.

“We saw it and thought it would be nice to own something in downtown Huntington,” he said.

Ambrosino, of Laurel Hollow, took over where previous owner Gary Field left off, moving forward with plans to construct a 20,000-square-foot three-story mixed-use building with both commercial space and apartments. There is 5,000 square feet of commercial space planned for the ground floor, and 10 apartments spread across the upper floors.

Ambrosino said the building will be “an asset to the community.” He added, “It’ll spruce up this block a little bit.

A mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments is planned, ranging from 650-1,050 square feet in size, and renting for $2,800-$3,450 per month.

After purchasing the property, Ambrosino began preliminary work last year, starting with demolition of the fire-damaged structure. Construction was halted during the winter months, but started back up two months ago.

Ambrosino expects construction to be finished in September. He’s hoping to open the retail space and apartments by November.

A 2014 ruling made by the Huntington Zoning Board of Appeals limits tenants in the proposed building to two cars per apartment, and no more than 20 total vehicles for all of the apartments.