Expansion of New Hyde Park Auto Body Approved

The New Hyde Park Auto Body Works shop will be expanding soon after the village board approved a special use permit for a second facility at 910 Third Ave. during a hearing on Aug. 20 at the village hall.

The current facility, located on South Eighth Street and Second Avenue is owned by Charles DiMarino of Brooklyn, who stated that his business is rapidly outgrowing the current building.

“It’s very, very cramped,” he said of the current 2,800 sq. ft. facility, “so it’s difficult for me to keep everything inside the building, we have a lot of business so this will allow me to keep everything inside so I wouldn’t be spilling out the doors.”

The new space on Third Avenue is 5,000 total sq. ft. with 3,600 sq. ft. of work area, and the remainder office space, which was installed by the previous tenant. There is a total of 11,000 sq. ft. between the two buildings. DiMarino is looking to conduct framework and bodywork on Third Avenue, keeping spraying and paintwork on Second Avenue as well as holding cars at that lot.

“Car gets hit, it need to be pulled on the frame machine... any kind of plastic work, bond or we’ve got to fill a dent with plastic, that will be done on that side of the street,” he said. “Then the cars would be moved to the other side of the street for finishing, assembly.”

DiMarino said that on newer cars cannot use open flames or torches because the vehicles cannot be repaired in that matter and instead must use resistant metal to fuse pieces together. The shop uses waterborne paints, limiting amounts of flammable materials, by DiMarino’s estimates, about 60 percent less solvent-based materials than other shops, and would remain on Second Avenue.

DiMarino, who has operated the business for 30 years, anticipates having four employees in shop and three in the office. He stated that he is planning on having a total of 10 employees between the two locations, up from eight now. Hours of operation would remain the same going from from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays with the office open until 12 p.m. on Saturdays but the shop closed. He currently has seven car repair bays in the existing Second Avenue location. The Third Avenue facility will add an additional 11-12 bays.

DiMarino plans on placing a drive-in center just inside the entrance to the Third Avenue building to conduct estimating for insurance companies because he is a direct repair shop.

“I want to make it like a dealership so when customers pull in, I can fit four cars right here and they’re out of the weather, they have access to the office but they have no access to the work area, only through the glass can they see it,” he said.

DiMarino said that there would be hammering noise emanating from the shop, “but no more than you’d hear in a mechanic shop.”

The Third Avenue building, described as a large warehouse and industrially zoned, encompasses the entire property so no cars are stored outside. The shop has a holding yard on Second Avenue so no vehicles would be stored outside on the street.

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