Resident Seeks Historic Status For Peppercorns 130-Year Old Building

HICKSVILLE, NY — Customers have flocked to Peppercorns in Hicksville for 40 years. But the restaurant is closing on July 31.

One longtime patron, who has been a Hickville resident for decades, wants the building to attain historic status.

More than 130 years ago, long before Peppercorns had the East Marie Street location, it was a firehouse.

"It was moved from across the street where the firehouse is currently," Julie Ugarte told Patch. "They dragged it across the street with horses to preserve this building."

Ugarte started a Change.org petition, which has more than 1,200 online signatures.

"Because it's not considered a landmark, anything could happen to it down the road," she said.

James Madden, Peppercorns co-owner, said he attempted to get historic recognition but it "fell into the cracks of Albany."

"It's concerning to me," Ugarte said. "Because I don't know if there's enough people that care about what happens to this building at this point."

While she understands that the demographics of Hicksville are evolving, she doesn't want the building history lost to, well, history.

"Somebody has to pay attention and acknowledge that," Ugarte said.

Watch the full "Patch Weekly Spotlight" interview with Ugarte below.