Rockland officials OK controversial ice cream shop

The Rockland Planning Board has given a local woman permission to open an ice cream and coffee shack in her backyard, despite complaints from neighbors. Sally Levi had been working with Rockland officials for over six months trying to open Newty’s Little Shack By The Railroad Track. City zoning rules allow her to use the old shack in the backyard of her home as a commercial space. But some neighbors have complained that Newty’s would bring too much traffic and noise to their quiet Rockland neighborhood. Levi hopes that its customers would be mostly pedestrians walking down the nearby Harbor Trail. Discussion with both supporters and opponents of the proposal took up more than two hours of planning board time on Tuesday, according to the Courier-Gazette . The board ultimately approved Levi’s plan with a 3-1 vote. The planning board restricted Levi to selling only prepared foods, with no cooking on site, and access to Newty’s would be through a gate in the fence of Levi’s backyard from the Harbor Trail, the Gazette reported. Newty’s, located at 84 Crescent St., is expected to open within three months.