Hand Car Wash Approved for Merrick Road

An "exterior design" application for a proposed hand, car wash facility was unanimously approved by village trustees at Monday night's Rockville Centre Village Board meeting.

The facility, Ultra Sonic Hand Wash, will be constructed at the corner of Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue.

"The building is modeled after, we feel, the Village of Rockville Centre," said building architect Emilio Susa, who was on hand to speak about the proposed project. "There are a lot of very nice homes in the village, especially Tudors, so we tried to bring that character to this building and tried to embody the spirit of Rockville Centre."

The difference between the proposed hand car wash and a regular car wash, Susa said, is that while the car moves through on a track and the chemicals are applied by machines, the washing itself is done by hand.

"No machines touch the car. All of the washing, the soaping, it's all done by individuals," Susa said. "... It reduces scratching on the paint by doing it that way."

After speaking about the physical aspects of the hand wash and what would go into the decor, Susa presented before and after photos of a similar car wash that the owner built in Bellerose, Queens. Susa also requested that a sign with the phrase "Welcome to Rockville Centre" be allowed on the property.

Trustee Michael Sepe asked if the hand wash sign on the side of the building -- based on a provided rendering -- would be to scale and if if so, could it be made smaller? Susa said the sign could be made smaller if the board requested.

Susa continued to explain that the second floor of the property, while decorative in nature, would double as storage for some of the machines.

Nassau County will be conducting roadwork in the near future to create a safer intersection at Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue, but Susa said he had spoken with the county and that the roadwork would not affect construction on the hand wash facility.

One resident was concerned about traffic flow in the area, but Susa assured the resident, along with the board, that the roadwork being done in the area would negate any possible problems with the hand wash. Cars will enter the hand wash on Ocean Avenue and, after a counter clockwise trip through the wash, will then exit on Ocean Avenue as well.