Pols go to bat for mini- golf biz on Rock ‘Pike

In an effort to save a beloved family business from rising rents and crippling state bureaucracy, Far Rockaway Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder and Nassau County Legislator Howard Kopel are asking the state Department of Transportation to renegotiate steep use and occupancy fees applied to the Five Towns Mini-Golf and Batting Range on Rockaway Turnpike in Lawrence.

Goldfeder, who said that Marty Rosen’s 38-year-old business “has provided wholesome fun and entertainment to thousands of families in our community, including my own,” asked the DOT “to step up to the plate and ensure the Rosen family remains a part of our community for years to come.”

“Local businesses like these are the backbone of our economy and we must ensure that they continue to grow and thrive,” Goldfeder said at a press conference with Kopel and Rosen.

“This is a family-owned business that provides a unique service to the area,” Kopel said. “We should be attracting local businesses, not forcing them out.”

In their bi-partisan bid, Democrat Goldfeder and Republican Kopel called on DOT to renegotiate a 150 percent increase in use and occupancy fees that took effect in April. They warned state officials that the high fees could force the longstanding business to fail, leading to more blight along the commercial district on Rockaway Turnpike.

They pointed to an adjacent former car dealership also in state DOT hands which, for the better part of the last decade, has stood abandoned and covered in tall weeds.

Last August, Goldfeader and Rosen met with DOT officials to request a compromise on the then-impending fee increase from $4,700 to $12,435 per month and to seek a long-term use and occupancy permit. 

Rosen appealed the permit increase, arguing that extensive roadwork, poor traffic light controls, economic downturns and Hurricane Sandy negatively impacted the business. The DOT regional office responded on July 27 that it was “constrained to consider only market value” when setting permit fees, and that the appeal was denied.