The Floral Park Board of Trustees reserved its decision Tuesday night on a special-use permit for a cafe on Covert Avenue.

Saif Ahmed told the board he would like to open a Le Macaron, a French pastry franchise at 75 Covert Ave.

Ahmed, a resident of Floral Park, said there is no longer a place on Covert Avenue to enjoy a cup of coffee. A store that had done so was lost in a 2020 fire on Covert Ave. 

“We’ve wanted a cafe since 2018 and were looking at places in the city but thought to ourselves why not Floral Park,” Ahmed said. 

He said he plans to have the cafe seat 10 and be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will not have cooking equipment, he said. 

After a few residents questioned the 10 p.m. closing time, Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald noted that the board is allowed to set guidelines for how late a store is open when issuing special permits.  

Ahmed said he will place garbage in black bags before leaving them outside the day of pickup. Prior to being picked up, the garbage will be inside the cafe in the back area and will not be left outside overnight. 

He said there will be two employees for two shifts every day when the cafe is open and that he will be on the premises as much as he can. Ahmed said he plans to hire locally so employee cars will not tax the nearby parking lot.

He said some renovation work is needed for the inside of the store and a separate application is currently before the village’s Architectural and Preliminary Site Plan Review Board.

A separate application is also going through the review board to convert the property’s basement into a separate business.

Ahmed said his wife is a real estate broker and will be conducting her business in the basement of the cafe. He said only two employees will be there most of the time.

Ahmed added that he and his wife live close to the property and don’t intend on driving and leaving their cars in the parking lot. 

The next Floral Park Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15.