
It has a bright blue awning, 150 flavors and some angry neighbors.
Ralph’s Italian Ices & Ice Cream, at 946 E. Boston Post Road, a seasonal shop that opened in May, has become a very popular spot for both adults and kids during this hot summer. The company has 80 stores in New York and New Jersey.
But nearby homeowners don’t like the noise, litter and lack of parking.
The problem seems to be that the store was classified by the Village of Mamaroneck as retail — instead of food. Retail stores are subject to far less regulation than eateries.
Ralph’s did not have to report to the village a plan for parking, garbage or hours of operation.
Earlier this summer, residents submitted a petition with over 300 signatures arguing that “access to the site is unregulated because there has been no site plan review.”
The village, admitting an error, will allow Ralph’s to continue to operate on the condition that it applies for a special permit and site plan approval. The store’s hours were also reduced.
“We don’t think Ralph’s did anything wrong, we just think a mistake was made,” Barry Weprin, chairman of the village Board of Appeals, told LoHud.
But Scott Rosenberg, Ralph’s owner and operator, said “It hasn’t been fair. I went in asking if there were any restrictions, the village said no, and now they’re claiming I wasn’t a food operation. The words ‘ice cream’ are in the name of the business…Is it fair to make us go through this now?”
Rosenberg has filed to challenge the board’s demands.
I have to try this spot soon!
Whoever signed the permit for the village is trying to cover their tracks to look good in the eyes of the complaining villagers who are upset by the noise disturbance by their homes. To satisfy these people, site permit should only be for low noise business during daytime business hours, since an ice parlor is too disturbing for neighborhood