Somni NY Tapas seeks new location, but cooler questions remain

The October 24 Monroe Village Planning Board meeting was an eventful, and sometimes confusing, one. A key point of discussion involved the relocation of the Somni Tapas Restaurant & Bar from its current location at 590 NY-208 to a new location at 15 Lake Street.

The confusion began with trying to figure out which government entity — the village of Monroe or the town of Monroe — would head-up all matters concerning the proposed relocation of Somni. While 15 Lake Street is located in the village, it is owned by the town. This ownership includes some of the surrounding parking spots. Currently, Somni owners Luis and Manuel Naula plan to lease 15 Lake Street from the town. The relocation of the restaurant would also require installation of a large cooler to help facilitate restaurant operations, since there is limited space within the building itself.

This cooler would take up at least one of the town-owned parking spaces. This creates a number of headaches and challenges, with Luis and Manual Naula being “ping ponged” between Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone and the village board in trying to complete their restaurant’s relocation successfully. The ownership of the building by the town also creates an issue concerning the use of the cooler and dumpster. Since the cooler has to be installed outside in one of the parking spots, there are many questions about what would happen to said cooler should the town decide to sell the building and the parking space the cooler rests on. The Monroe Village Planning Board suggests the town of Monroe sell the building to the Naulas in order to uncomplicate the relocation.

Other Business

In other planning board business, the architects and consultants representing the Monroe-Woodbury Islamic Center previewed for the board some of the new building’s configurations. They also addressed what impact there would be for residents near the Center’s location just off Orange Turnpike and Reynolds Road. The planning board agreed and voted to schedule a public hearing for the proposed house of worship. Presently, 180 worshipers attend Friday prayers. The Islamic Center hopes building the new facility can grow that number to 230 over time.

The village requested the Islamic Center representatives bring in a sample of the building materials they plan to use for the construction. This may seem like an odd request, but it comes because of issues with other developers in Monroe proposing to use one set of materials to the board, only to later substitute those materials after the village approved the development.

One subject of concern involving the construction of the mosque is the creation of light pollution and loss of darkness for the homes surrounding the new building. This is an issue that affects all of Monroe with each new proposed development. Light pollution currently affects nearly 80% of all Americans according to Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History archeologist Stephen Loring, attributes light pollution worldwide to causing the death of “billions of birds” with the “easy solution” for communities to turn off the lights when not in use. “They don’t have to be on all night long,” the archeologist told Smithsonian Magazine. Happily, the planned Islamic Center’s representatives stated the lights are meant for security, and can be turned off when not in use. The representatives also stated that the lights installed on the property will be downlit lights, meaning they won’t be projecting into the nearby roads or homes.