This year's workshops and panelists:

Breakfast Plenary Session:

Sessions #1 (8:20am - 9:45am)

State of the Towns & Villages
Hon. Mark Lesko, Supervisor Town of Brookhaven
Hon. Phil Nolan, Supervisor, Town of Islip
Hon. Steve Bellone, Supervisor, Town of Babylon
Hon. Jon Kaiman, Supervisor, Town of North Hempstead
Hon. Ralph Suozzi, Mayor, City of Glen Cove
Hon. Sean Walter - Supervisor-elect, Town of Riverhead
Warren Tackenberg, Nassau County Village Officials Association
Hon. Dorothy Goosby, Councilwoman, Town of Hempstead
Hon. Steven J. Flotteron, Councilman, Town of Islip
Hon. Chris Nuzzi, Councilman, Town of Southampton
Joye Brown, Newsday - moderator

 

Sessions #1 (9:55am - 11:05am)

Future of Media & Land Use
David Reich-Hale, Long Island Business News
Carl Corry, News12 Interactive
Patrick Lespinasse, Verizon FiOS
Grant Parpan, North Shore Sun
Jaci Clement, Fair Media Council- moderator

Tapping Into the "New" Market: How downtown revitalization can keep our youth, attract Boomers, and lower taxes
Don Monti, Renaissance Downtowns
Deidra Parrish-Williams, Newsday/GreenStreetLI
Judy Panullo, Suffolk Community Council
Jorge Martinez, LI Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - moderator

Suburban Revitalization I
James Moore, HDR
Anthony Bartone, Bartone Properties
Hon. James Wooten, Councilman, Town of Riverhead
Brian Newman, Newman Design
June Williamson, CUNY - moderator

Regional & Local Energy Solutions
Mike Deering, LIPA
representative, NYPA
John Keating, National Grid
Dr. Frank Zeman, NYIT
Neal Lewis, Sustainability Institute at Molloy College - moderator

Regional Planning: How All the Pieces Fit
Jeff Greenfield, Nassau County Planning Commission
David Calone, Suffolk County Planning Commission
Gerry Bogacz, NYMTC
Richard Bivone, Long Island Business Council - moderator

 

Sessions #2 (11:10am - 12:20pm)

Transit-Oriented Development
Bob Paley, MTA
Hon. Ed Romaine, Legislator, Suffolk County
Maurice Fox, Dennis Organization
Geoffrey Morrison-Logan, VHB
Kate Slevin, Tri-State Transportation Campaign - moderator

Developments of Regional Impact
representative, Lighthouse Project
Matt Frank, RxR Glen Isle
Gene Murphy, Town of Islip Planning Department
Mark Spector, Spector Group
representative, Brookhaven National Lab*
Peter Kohler, Cablevision Editorials- moderator

Suburban Revitalization II
George Schramm, Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization
Steven Krieger, Engel Burman
Jim Coughlan, Tritec
Rick Cisterna, Hazen and Sawyer
Paddy Steinschneider, Gotham Design, CNU-NY - moderator

NYS, Stimulus & Infrastructure
Daniel D'Angelo, NYS Department of Transportation
Rita Ebert, Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition
Peter Scully, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Adrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Peter Fleischer, Empire State Future - moderator

Emerging Industries: The New Job Market
Hon. Vivian Viloria-Fischer, Legislator, Suffolk County
Peter Goldsmith, LISTNET
Gary Huth, NYS Department of Labor
Sergio Argueta - STRONG Youth, Inc.
Roger Clayman, LI Federation of Labor - moderator

 

Networking Luncheon (12:30pm-1:50pm)

The Honorable David A. Paterson, Governor, New York State
Scott Rechler, RxR Realty

 

Technical Sessions (2:00pm - 4:00pm)

Regulatory Toolbox: SEQRA, PDDs, Overlay Zones & TDRs
Keith Archer, Harras Bloom and Archer
Hon. Connie Kepert, Councilwoman, Town of Brookhaven
Alex Latham, ADL III Architecture
Bob White, AKRF

Green Building: Opportunities for LEED ND
Alexandra Wolfe, Society for Preservation of Long Island Antiquities
John Anderson, Anderson|Kim Architects
Hon. Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, Councilman, Town of Brookhaven
Salvatore Coco, Beatty Harvey Coco Architects
Keith Samaroo, PS&S

Working With Long Island Communities
Johan McConnell, South Yaphank Civic Association
Ann Marie Curd, Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations
Jim Pavone, Hicksville Chamber of Commerce
Tom Kehoe, Village of Northport Business Development Co.
John Woods, UFCW Local 1500

How to Finance Smart Growth
Roz Goldmacher, LI Development Corp.
Peter Zarcone, Mason Tenders District Council of Greater NY PAC
Yves Michel, Town of Brookhaven IDA
Anna Maria Villa, Town of Riverhead IDA
Dan Deegan, Forchelli Curto Deegan Schwartz Mineo Cohn & Terrana - moderator

Youth Summit
(local students from at least 4 area colleges/universities)
Dr. Nathalia Rogers, Dowling College - convenor

(* denotes invited speakers)

Can't make it? Follow our live blog!

Vision Long Island is pleased to announce the 2009 Smart Growth Summit, to be held on Friday, November 20th from 8:00-4:00 at the Melville Marriott.

Each year, the Summit brings together a broad range of action-oriented decision-making Long Island leaders from community, civic, and governmental sectors. The Summit includes a morning plenary session, a luncheon, and over a dozen workshops throughout the day.

If you are interested in participating at any level or if you have any questions, feel free to contact our office at any time at 631-261-0242 or by visiting our website.

A registration form and flyer are available online here.

We look forward to seeing you on November 20th!

Register Today!

[ ] Visionary - $15,000 [ ] Leader - $10,000 [ ] Gold Sponsor - $5,000 [ ] Sponsor - $2,000 [ ] Seat(s) at $125 each ($150 walk-in)

Attendee(s): _______________________________________________________________________

Affiliation:__________________________________________________________________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________________

Town, State, Zip: ___________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________ Fax: ___________________ Email: __________________________

[ ] Check enclosed [ ] Check sent (faxes only) [ ] Credit Card [ ] Pay at the Door

[ ] Visa [ ] Mastercard [ ] American Express. Card Number: _________________________________

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Faxes can be sent to 631-754-4452. Questions can be directed to our office, 631-261-0242.

Yaphank Proposal Debated

On Tuesday morning, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy presented his plans for Legacy Village- the controversial development plan for Yaphank- at a meeting of the Long Island Regional Planning Council.

The 250-acre project, worth roughly $400 million, would include 1,000 units of housing, an indoor and outdoor sports and entertainment complex with 5,500 and 5,000 seats respectively, a 90-room hotel, four restaurants, a 95-acre alternative energy research and development center with a four-megawatt solar plant to generate power for the complex, and 75,000 square feet of office and retail space. The 1,000 housing units would include one and two-bedroom townhouses and condos, with about 80% of the units sold as affordable housing. These units would be priced between $195,000 and $290,000, with rents at $800 a month. Though all the affordable housing sounds great, it is actually using the majority of County affordable housing funds in this one project, which takes away from the rest of the County. The project's developers are The Beechwood Organization and Katter Development.

Vision's Eric Alexander was quoted in an article by Long Island Business News, saying that many residents who attended the meeting voiced concerns about the project's density and environmental aspects. The article continued:

Alexander, whose group has not voiced support or opposed the project but is still gathering information, said other concerns voiced at the meeting were about whether the region can sustain two new arenas and what county resources are going into funding the project.

The project also garnered support from builders and union contractors, he said.

“Everybody is still just trying to take it in at this point,” Alexander said. “The county project so far has raised more questions and invective on both sides than created consensus.”

He said it is now up to the town of Brookhaven to work with the county on the plans and come up with something all sides will support.

“The town is really the driver here,” Alexander said. “There is a lot of work to do before it gets to the town.”

Affordable Housing Crisis May Violate Human Rights, Says UN

Smart Growth Online recently reported on the United Nations Human Rights Council's new initiative to assess the state of affordable housing in the United States, to see whether it actually violates human rights. With millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes for various reasons (foreclosure, landlord corruption, etc.), shelter--a basic human right--is being severely threatened. The United Nations has assigned Raquel Rolnik, an urban planning professor at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, as "a special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing." Last week she spend three days touring New York City with housing advocates and city officials to "hear the voices of those who are suffering on the ground." She will also tour Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington, a South Dakota Indian reservation, and Wilkes-Barre, PA. After speaking with local governments about their perception of the situation and asking them to address it, she will report to the UN General Assembly in March 2010 about housing rights violations and advances. 

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Suffolk Legislature Approves 2010 Budget

On November 2nd, The Suffolk County Legislature came together to vote and approve a 2010 operating budget plan.  The $2.64 billion helps reduce spending by $6 million, reduces overly optimistic sales tax revenue projections by 1% or $10.3 million and maintains a freeze on general fund property taxes while including a modest increase in the police district levy.   This budget puts a great emphasis on public safety. $50,000 was also approved for the Fireman’s Training Center to train Volunteer Firefighters across Suffolk County.  To achieve the level of public safety which the Legislature desired, the Police District property tax levy will be increased by 3%, or $13.3 million, or $30 per police district taxpayer (5 West end towns).

The Legislature rejected the County Executive’s initiative to privatize County marinas and restores the popular 4-H and Family Health & Wellness programs run by Cornell Cooperative Extension in various communities throughout the County.  The budget will go before the County Executive who has two weeks to either sign as is or to veto items.  The final say on the budget lies with the Legislature by voting either to sustain or override any vetoes at its next General Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 17th in Hauppauge.

Governor Paterson Announces Circuit-Breaker Property Tax Relief Program

Here's a note from Governor Paterson's Long Island office:

On Long Island, there has been substantial support for a “circuit breaker” to offset some of the onerous tax burden shared by our residents. Governor Paterson has proposed a circuit-breaker property tax relief program that is tied to a cap on State spending, an important component of his Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP). The DRP will help restore fiscal stability to our State, and the proposed circuit breaker program will help ensure that the needs of our taxpaying New Yorkers are addressed as we recover and ultimately move from a deficit to a surplus situation. The State spending cap and circuit breaker will combine with other taxpayer friendly initiatives proposed by Governor Paterson, such as a property tax cap, to provide real and sustainable taxpayer relief.

Governor Paterson said, "Albany is notorious for two things: overspending and overtaxing. My legislation solves both. This bill will force the Legislature to control their spending – just like every family in New York has to – and when we generate future surpluses, it will go directly to hard-working New Yorkers in the form of property tax relief and not more State spending. And, as the surplus grows through our actions to control spending, taxpayers will receive a larger and larger benefit in years to come.”

The press release, which you can read in full on the Governor's website, explains the full details of program. Downstate, household incomes up to $300,000 are eligible for the tax credit, which would range between $500-$1500, depending on the level of the future surplus. The program also includes a provision to encourage fiscal responsibility at the local level, which presses localities (including school districts) to keep spending and property tax bills under control. 

LIBN's Who's Who Honors Vision Long Island Board, Staff, and Supporters

Long Island Business News just released their 2009 "Who's Who of Long Island," "a compilation of business leaders that Long Island Business News has reported on throughout the year, key players address these issues and provide industry insights and advice about how to keep Long Island moving forward." 

Two of Vision Long Island's board members are featured this year!

Keith Archer of Harras Bloom & Archer is honored for exceling in commercial and residential real estate. His practice includes residential and commercial real estate development, commercial leasing, senior housing development, land use and zoning matters, and more. Archer told LIBN about his work for the senior population, which is expected to double in Long Island by 2030: "We have constructed many senior housing projects for persons 55 years of age and older. We have made progress in providing assisted living and congregate care facilities for those in need of varying levels of daily living assistance." He goes on to note that "by utilizing innovative planning techniques, such as the Smart Growth concept of building vertical and integrating shopping options into the development or building close to downtown business districts, the land requirement could be redacted and LI would take a major step in meeting the challenges of providing for its increasing senior population." 

Michael Posillico of Posillico is a leader in green development. His company has been one of the cornerstones in the construction industry in the tri-state area for more than 60 years. A current Long Island project by Posillico is the redevelopment of the Glen Cove Waterfront. Mr. Posillico says, "One step I have taken at Posillico to guide our company to become more eco-friendly has been to position our resources to make the best of opportunities to conserve natural resources and energy while developing building and core infrastructure." He continues, "All of [our] projects have required dedication and resources to finding sustainable clean up and development plans that are a valuable part of retaining non disturbed open space, while continuing to develop areas that have already been effected by dated industrial use and heavy pollution." 

Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island's Executive Director, is also featured in the "green" category.

Many companies that support Smart Growth and Vision's goals were also recognized, including: The Albanese Organization, VHB, Emtec Consulting Engineers, Bank of America, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, H2M Group, Jaspan Schlesinger, Rexcorp Realty/RXR, Ruskin Mousou Faltischek, Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor, Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, and Cameron Engineering.  

Pick up a copy of Who's Who today!

AREA’s Master Planner Status being Revoked due to Inactivity

In 2006, the Apollo Real Estate Advisors, now known as AREA Property Partners, purchased the site of the former Woolworth building in downtown Riverhead for $4.3 million. Awarded with master developer status for the Riverhead downtown revitalization plan, they originally proposed to build a multiplex movie theater, a specialty food store, and either a hotel or apartments on the Woolworth site. 

While developing the original site, AREA also purchased and proposed to develop the 11 privately-owned land parcels on the south side of Main Street instead of taking Town-owned land for the development.

Eventually, plans for the Woolworth site changed when it was proven too difficult to attract tenants and a Marriott was proposed instead. Since then, however, AREA has been unable to move forward on the project due to a lack of financing, which has become exacerbated with the recent economic collapse.  All of this has resulted in the developer group scrapping the plans for the Marriott altogether.

"Financing to construct a hotel just doesn't exist in this market," explained Kevin Davis, a partner in the group. "We're trying to focus on development that we think will have a high chance of being financed."

"I knew that was going to happen," said Councilman John Dunleavy when told of Mr. Davis' comments. "[AREA] came to town with big ideas that didn't pan out."

This latest development, coupled with AREA’s inability to purchase any of the 11 privately owned land parcels due to disagreeing appraisals, has resulted in the decision to remove their master planner status and begin pursuing new options for revitalization.  The Town is already speaking with Parr Development in Ronkonkoma to help restart the revitalization program.

“We welcome new developers to downtown Riverhead and continue to remain fully committed to making our project a success,” Mr. Davis commented when informed that AREA would be losing their status. “Well-planned development and redevelopment projects are essential to making the revitalization of downtown Riverhead a reality.”

Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale also signaled that the Town may be mulling the idea of condemning the land parcels on the south side of Main Street, which are blighted, and possibly turning them into parkland or even additional riverfront access. “This is a wonderful opportunity because property values are down,” said Mr. Cardinale.

Riverhead will be sending out requests for ideas on reinventing Main Street before the end of the year.

Read more in Riverhead News Review and LI Business News.

Governor Paterson Signs Green Jobs/Green New York Bill into Law

On Tuesday, October 13th, Governor Paterson held a signing ceremony at the New York State Weatherization Directors Association training center in North Syracuse to commemorate the signing of the new Green Jobs/Green New York Bill into law. 

“The workforce training that this bill supports will prepare New Yorkers to find jobs in the 21st century clean energy economy that we are building here in New York… so we can help New Yorkers secure jobs that help working families and businesses cut their energy bills while reducing greenhouse gas pollution,” said Governor Paterson.  The bill also sets a goal to meet 45 percent of the state’s energy needs through efficiency and renewable by 2015.

Read more in Smart Growth News.

Restore NY Grants for Downtown Riverhead

In the third round of Restore New York grants, the East Main Street Urban Renewal Plan in downtown Riverhead will receive $2.4 million for several downtown revitalization projects. The grants were first announced in early September, but this Wednesday, a press conference in front of the Atlantis Marine World Aquarium hailed the grant money and its potential to help the downtown. Restore NY grants have been awarded to 79 projects across the state, totaling $153.6 million.

Projects will include the reconstruction of two underutilized properties into a five-story Hyatt Palace hotel and a two-story gallery and catering hall. The Town is also proposing to expand the Aquarium into a 6.5 acre site, adding about 140 permanent jobs and 150 construction jobs. These projects are intended to add up to 20% more visitors to the area, or about 480,000 people a year. The project costs about $20 million and construction is scheduled to be completed by May 2011.

Read more at Long Island Business News.

Yaphank Project to be Declared Surplus Property?

Last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy submitted a resolution to declare the "Legacy Village" parcel in Yaphank surplus property. However, according to several County legislators, the bill also approves the request for proposal process, which allows the County to choose developers and ultimately sell the property. In the case of Legacy Village, the developers have already been selected (Katter Development Company and The Beechwood Organization), prior to the site being declared surplus property. 

Legislator Kate Browning, who last month proposed the creation of an oversight committee for the project, has spoken out against the development. After the resolution was proposed, she emailed residents, urging them to voice their concern over the project and this vague resolution. Her email read, "Legislator Browning needs your support in stopping this resolution from getting the support in the legislature. Please contact all 18 legislators to express your concerns about selling this property before all information has been looked at, and prior to the public deciding whether the land should be sold." Legislator Dan Losquadro agreed, arguing that the County should have first declared the land surplus and then seek out developers. 

The County Executive disagreed with the legislators, defending the process he proposed by saying that his resolution included nothing on the RFP process.

The $400 million project spans 250 acres in an undeveloped portion of the small Yaphank community. It includes 1,000 housing units, 785 of which are affordable and priced between $190,000 and $215,000. It also includes an arena and stadium, 30 acres of ball fields, a wellness center, restaurants, a hotel, retail and office space, a 95-acre light technology and light industry park, and a solar plant to power the community.

The project has faced a great deal of public criticism from local residents, elected officials, the press and others.

LI Smart Growth Working Group

The Long Island Smart Growth Working Group met this morning to discuss the elusive topic of transportation financing. Attendees included officials from the Town's of Islip, Riverhead, Hempstead, Oyster Bay as well as civic, chamber leaders and other stakeholders. The topic was timely, due to the continued misinformation as to the status of transportation projects throughout the region.

This special work session highlighted transportation financing. We heard from Hilary Ring from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Elissa Picca of the LI Railroad, Heather Sporn from New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and Gerry Bogacz from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC). They reviewed projects that had been funded and what projects are in line for financing.

The MTA portion of the meeting produced a robust discussion on transportation priorities for the East End, transit-oriented development, and more effective communication with the agency. The DOT portion outlined support for Route 347 and adaptation of existing roadway networks with a "fix it first" strategy. Renewed support for Local Safe Streets Traffic Calming grants and the emerging "Safe Seniors" program were other highlights. The full TIP was not ready for public notice but an effective communication with the Department is in place thanks to the communication of Ms. Sporn. Gerry Bogacz from NYMTC reviewed past and present funding levels for Long Island and the region. Much to everyone's surprise Long Island is not receiving less than its fair share of funding on a per capita basis.

The Long Island Smart Growth Working Group meets quarterly to discuss statewide policies that will affect Smart Growth development on Long Island, as well as to serve as a watchdog organization for the NYS Smart Growth Cabinet. The group is organized by Vision Long Island, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Neighborhood Network, Regional Plan Association, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, LI Federation of Labor, Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, Suffolk Community Council, Long Island Progressive Coalition, AARP-Long Island Chapter, and many others. Past meeting topics include the Long Island Rail Road's transit oriented development goals, State support for Smart Growth principles, technical and financial assistance programs established by Empire State Development, wastewater infrastructure from the Department of Environmental Conservation, a greening vision for Route 347 from the DOT Region 10, and more.

Coverage of the event can be viewed at Long Island Business News here.

Historic Mott House Demolished: Who's to Blame and What's next?

Last week, the Town of Brookhaven suffered a terrible lost: the historic Mott House fell to the ground. The building, which had been standing since the early 1800's, was going to become the new home of the Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association. Residents felt that the Mott House was a key landmark that had been neglected to long and would be better served as a community center. Residents from the surrounding community were also pleased as the poroperty would no longer be blighted but revitalized.

It was with great dismay that the residents of the community realized that their dream would be postponed at best because the house was no longer standing. Gordon Heights residents, along with former historic preservationist and current Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Connie Kepert were clearly upset over the property at the Visioning meeting on Saturday. She pledged her support to uncover what had happened and to address how to fix it.

As per community residents who spoke both at the visioning and to the Town Board, there were people over a 3 day period removing items from the home such as the roofing, windows, doors, and the back of the house. Many questioned why this was done but before there was an opportunity for answers, the house had fallen. The following day, employees of the Town Parks department removed the debris. Supervisor Lesko was upset that the the debris was so quickly disgarded and also promised residents a full investigation.

Gordon Heights residents, along with former historic preservationist and current Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Connie Kepert were clearly upset over the property at the Visioning meeting on Saturday. She pledged her support to uncover what had happened and to address how to fix it.

Read Joye Brown's article in Newsday here.

$28.1 Billion MTA Capital Plan Approved

Last week, the MTA Board approved its 2010-2014 Capital Plan worth $28.1 billion. There are some great promised investments on the table, including $1.179 billion for LIRR track, rolling stock, and signals/communications. $5.7 billion will go into system expansion, including $2.9 billion for East Side Access.

The problem with the plan is that the MTA currently cannot afford it, by almost $10 billion. The next step will be pressure on Albany to fund the shortfall.

Lighthouse Hearing Brings the Heat

This past Tuesday, the Town of Hempstead scheduled a 12-hour public zoning hearing for the Lighthouse project; the 500 attendees at the hearing quickly learned why the hearing was scheduled for so long.

The morning began with the now-predictable chants of "Build it now!" when developer Charles Wang gave his opening presentation to the Town Board. Supervisor Kate Murray added, "The crowd's smaller this time, but you've got your fans, Mr. Wang." The presentation continued with the developer's argument to rezone the property as PDD (Planned Development District). Mr. Wang called the Lighthouse "its own stimulus package" to spur economic and job growth in the region. The 4000-page Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (FGEIS) was delivered to the Town Board for review, noting that the Board had missed its SEQRA deadline to review the FGEIS. Wang says he is still sticking by his October 3rd deadline to begin looking at other options for the Islanders and that it is possible for the Town to read the FGEIS by then. He offered his help, saying we should "lock em up in a room and get it done!"

The hearing continued much like its August 4th predecessor, with a handful of speakers giving a quick 2-minute speech on how great the project is. The crowd became dismayed, however, when 5 consecutive Garden City stakeholders presented very negative views on the "too large, too urban" project and its effect on their nearby Village. The audience was audibly frustrated that these speakers were not cut off at the 2-minute time limit. One Village trustee spoke for 6 minutes, to which Supervisor Murray replied that they are an involved agency so they get to speak longer. "And we're not involved?" quipped one audience member.

At around 11:30am, the development team was asked to come up and present on some of the project's specifications. Developer Scott Rechler, H2M water consultant Paul Granger, VHB traffic and transportation experts Bob Eschbacher and Terri Elkowitz, and consultant Chic Voorhis of Nelson Pope all explained the project's details. It was then that the meeting picked up. Tensions rose as the Town Board asked question after question of the study team, often leaving them leafing through papers.

Though at times the grilling seemed less constructive and more political, the hours of questioning left the Town and the audience with a much more thorough understanding of the project's components. At the end of the night, of the remaining 100 or so attendees, a poll was taken that determined up to a 90% support level for the Lighthouse--not unlike the level of support earlier in the day. The community clearly came out to support the project and hope to see it move forward.

Here are some of the project details we learned:

In addition to any new transportation investments by the DOT, MTA/LI Bus, or the County, $55 million in developer money will be invested into new public transportation, including Lighthouse shuttle buses and pedestrian bridges. Contrary

to rumors, there will not be a new rail system built through Garden City connecting to the site. The Board had the most questioning on issues of traffic and roadway reconfiguration, to which Wang at one point said "Our project will not solve all the traffic problems of Long Island."

Conversations arose about a new water well that is expected to be built on property owned by Nassau Community College. Sewage will outflow to the Cedar Creek treatment plant. 24.5 out of 150 acres will be open space.

The project is expected to bring in 333 school aged children, and an agreement has been reached with the Uniondale School District.

There will be 42 buildings, 19,926 parking spaces (including shared parking), and 24 foot wide roads within the site that allow for single-lane travel with parallel parking.

The marketability of the next generation housing left a bit to be desired ($2300 a month to rent a one-bedroom apartment), but overall the project seems to adhere strongly to the community's wants and needs.

Because many who wanted to were unable to speak, the Town Board left the comment period open.

We encourage you to read the FGEIS (at least the executive summary), available on the Lighthouse website.

Comments can be emailed to LighthouseComment@tohmail.org or mailed to Town of Hempstead, Lighthouse Project Public Comment, One Washington Street, Hempstead, NY 11550.