Vision Long Island: North Hempstead

NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Revitalizing Communities

Village of Mineola Master Plan
Mineola
Village of Mineola
2006

We salute the Village of Mineola for its dynamic Comprehensive Master Plan. Thanks in large part to the leadership and perseverance of Mayor Jack Martins, the Village administration has proven itself to be a prime example of local government that in unafraid of implementing new and creative models of planning and development.

The goal of the Master Plan initiative is to increase long-term economic vitality. This is largely accomplished by the establishment of higher density residential and office space within the downtown, including appropriately sited six-story buildings. Having a greater density of people living and working in close proximity to retail and services will substantially increase local foot traffic. This creates an environment in which local merchants and the downtown district as a whole can thrive.

The plan also provides a model for transit-oriented development. The creative combination of planned residential, retail and office space will significantly increase the walkability of the existing downtown, while mitigating the density’s impact on auto congestion. What’s more, the district is readily served by an exceptionally well-used train-hub.

As a whole, the recommendations outlined in Mineola’s Master Plan Update exemplify cutting edge practices in downtown renewal nation-wide. Interestingly, this effort has resulted in little or no public fanfare. It has been quietly moving forward to yield dynamic projects that will secure the Village’s economic viability and quality of life for years to come.

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Creating Walkability

Coalition for a Safer Manhasset
Manhasset
2006

Five of the twenty most dangerous roads in New York State can be found on Long Island. Overall, the region is ranked 2nd highest in New York State for pedestrian accidents. The Coalition for a Safer Manhasset is a community’s response to personal experiences with the dangers of trying to walk on Long Island. Its informed, proactive, multi-faceted approach should serve as a model for effective civic action.

The Coalition for a Safer Manhasset was formed specifically to address pedestrian safety on Plandome Road in Manhasset. Success led them to address other community roadways. Indeed, the Coalition’s focus on research, public education, advocacy, and individual projects has been highly effective. Specific efforts include:

Researching and creating a report which was then presented to Town and County officials.

Coordinating ‘Safety Day’, a fun event which drew broad community involvement

Conducting diverse efforts to teach and promote motorist and pedestrian responsibility, including the creation of magnets that drivers can display as a symbol of their support for the campaign.

Actively involving youth in the organization, including a contest throughout all area schools to design the coalition’s logo.

Spearheading the ‘Community Courtesy Campaign’, an effort that transcends the issue of traffic safety by asking people to intentionally offer three acts of courtesy per day.

Imagine the possibilities if there were organizations like this in every community on Long Island! We thank the Coalition for a Safer Manhasset for their work and for allowing us to highlight their efforts at our 2005 Smart Growth Summit.

We hope that this organization will serve as a model for traffic calming, pedestrian safety, and general community efforts island-wide.

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Preserving Open Space and The Environment

Baywalk Waterfront Park
Port Washington North
Village of Port Washington North, Town of North Hempstead,
Residents For A More Beautiful Port Washington
2006

It is a rare treat when a new park is created in a developed environment. The Village of Port Washington North, the Town of North Hempstead and Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington are being honored for their effort to create such public space in the densely populated Port Washington area.

The Bay Walk Waterfront Park will stretch 1.8 miles along the Manhasset Bay and Sheets Creek Channel. Plans also include traffic calming and beautification of the adjacent Shore Road. Efforts to plan, fund and implement the designs were truly collaborative. They included the Town of North Hempstead, neighboring municipalities, community organizations and elected officials.

Village of Port Washington North Mayor Bob Weitzner spearheaded the effort, coordinating the private funding of various initiatives, including walkability audits. Public benefit packages with private development were then leveraged to secure substantial State funds to assist planning and construction of the park.

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Reinvesting in and Strengthening Communities

New Cassel Revitalization
Town of North Hempstead
Sustainable Long Island, Unified New Cassel Corporation
2005

The Town of North Hempstead, Sustainable Long Island (SLI) and the Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization Corp. (UNCCRC) are being honored for their extraordinarily successful effort to strengthen and revitalize the hamlet of New Cassel. Their efforts have brought this community together to shape their future, and have generated over $80Million dollars in private real estate development.

For nearly fifteen years the Town of North Hempstead has been using its Federal Community Development Block Grant program, State funding and various Brownfield grants to purchase properties on the Prospect Avenue corridor in New Cassel. The effort advanced in 2001, when SLI and the UNCCRC came together with local civic leaders and the Town to plan an ambitious revitalization for the struggling downtown. In 2002, the UNCCRC, the Town of North Hempstead, and SLI executed a community visioning process, “Seeking a Shared Vision for New Cassel”.

The process convened 600 community residents, business owners, civic groups, clergy, and elected officials to create a viable plan for Prospect Avenue — New Cassel’s main commercial corridor. The resulting vision was adopted by the Town of North Hempstead and, in December 2004, groundbreaking began on projects the community had identified as priorities. Plans include a joint proposal with local businesses committed to opening a supermarket and an Internet café. A bank and a pharmacy are also planned for Prospect Avenue. Additionally, fortysix rental units and twelve condominiums will be built in the downtown area.

The New Cassel Revitalization is one of many endeavors that the Town of North Hempstead will undertake in partnership with local organizations. It spotlights how significant public investment on the Federal, State, County and Town level, when planned properly with community input, can help rebuild a downtown.

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Creating Walkable Neighborhoods

Traffic Calming Program
Village of Great Neck Plaza
2005

The Village of Great Neck Plaza is being honored for their innovative traffic calming program to address pedestrian safety and walkability in the heart of Great Neck. Although the Village is small, its central location subjects it to the same traffic and pedestrian safety problems associated with busy city centers. The area encompasses a Central Business District, a multiple-unit dwelling center, and it serves as the commercial and transportation hub for the entire Great Neck Peninsula including eight other villages and several unincorporated areas.

The Village’s multi-project program has been championed by Mayor Jean Celender, head of JAC Planning. It seeks to calm traffic, enhance the visibility of pedestrians to approaching motorists, and to improve safe crosswalk usage. Funding is derived largely from New York State Department of Transportation “Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming” grants.

Completed improvements include a roundabout immediately adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road Station in Great Neck. This traffic calming device is streamlining auto traffic while greatly improving pedestrian safety. Other improvements include clearlyidentified pedestrian crossings, speed awareness devices, illuminated pedestrian crossing signs, and handicap-accessible sidewalk ramps.

A second roundabout is proposed for the opposite side of the Long Island Rail Road overpass to mitigate pedestrian safety problems similar to those which occurred at the south intersection. The Village also proposes to extend the eastbound LIRR platform beneath the roundabout, giving commuters the option to avoid the crosswalk altogether.

Lastly, the installation of “Bulb-Outs” on Bond Street will serve to slow vehicles entering the roadway in both directions, shorten crossing distances for pedestrians, and provide additional cues to motorists that they are entering an area with high pedestrian activity.

The most ambitious portion of the program is a controversial road narrowing proposed for Great Neck Road. While measures like this taken in other parts of the country have been highly successful, many in the area are highly concerned that removing lanes, while perhaps making things safer for pedestrians, will cause automotive nightmares. While the Village maintains confidence in the traffic projections of project planners, they have agreed to have the consultants check their numbers twice.

The Village of Great Neck Plaza’s traffic calming program is an ambitious and comprehensive approach to activiting walkable neighborhoods. Their program is clearly a model for the rest of Long Island.

BEFORE

AFTER

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Creating Walkability - Nassau County

Mill Pond Acres
Port Washington
Sandy Hollow Associates, LLC
2003

Mill Pond Acres, a proposed senior housing development consisting of 250 townhouse condominium units, will be located on a 40 acre site in the Village of Port Washington North. This proposed development was designed in an environmentally sensitive manner. Sixty-nine percent of the site will be preserved as open space, including natural areas, lawn and landscaped areas, and a network of man-made ponds.

The ponds will be used for irrigation and storm water management. The benefits of this are the increased recharge of storm water through the pond system as well as the significant reduction of well water use by utilizing the pond water for all site irrigation.

Sandy Hollow Associates, the project developer, is also providing a comprehensive community benefits package as part of the overall development program. This includes the donation of 8 acres of land (20% of total property size) to be used by the Village of Port Washington North for a community recreation center and bird sanctuary. Furthermore, Sandy Hollow Associates is providing an $875,000 contribution to the Village for open space preservation and a Waterfront Park project.

Sandy Hollow Associates also included a 7-day-a-week Jitney service for Mill Pond residents in order to reduce local traffic. The service will provide residents with transportation to local shops, supermarkets, movie theaters, the Public Library, and Port Washington Train Station. The development embodies many of the tenets of Smart Growth, and is a model for the development of moderately priced housing on Long Island.

Mill Pond Acres exemplifies many of the principles of Smart Growth through the community planning process, public benefits package, transportation access and walkability. Many of the elements of this project will serve as a model for other developments and redevelopments throughout Long Island.

Go back


NORTH HEMPSTEAD *Revitalizing Communities* Village of Mineola Master Plan Mineola Village of Mineola 2006 We salute the Village of Mineola for its dynamic Comprehensive Master Plan. Thanks in large part to the leadership and perseverance of Mayor Jack Martins, the Village administration has proven itself to be a prime example of local government that in unafraid of implementing new and creative models of planning and development. The goal of the Master Plan initiative is to increase long-term economic vitality. This is largely accomplished by the establishment of higher density residential and office space within the downtown, including appropriately sited six-story buildings. Having a greater density of people living and working in close proximity to retail and services will substantially increase local foot traffic. This creates an environment in which local merchants and the downtown district as a whole can thrive. The plan also provides a model for transit-oriented development. The creative combination of planned residential, retail and office space will significantly increase the walkability of the existing downtown, while mitigating the density’s impact on auto congestion. What’s more, the district is readily served by an exceptionally well-used train-hub. As a whole, the recommendations outlined in Mineola’s Master Plan Update exemplify cutting edge practices in downtown renewal nation-wide. Interestingly, this effort has resulted in little or no public fanfare. It has been quietly moving forward to yield dynamic projects that will secure the Village’s economic viability and quality of life for years to come. Go back
*Creating Walkability* Coalition for a Safer Manhasset Manhasset 2006 Five of the twenty most dangerous roads in New York State can be found on Long Island. Overall, the region is ranked 2nd highest in New York State for pedestrian accidents. The Coalition for a Safer Manhasset is a community’s response to personal experiences with the dangers of trying to walk on Long Island. Its informed, proactive, multi-faceted approach should serve as a model for effective civic action. The Coalition for a Safer Manhasset was formed specifically to address pedestrian safety on Plandome Road in Manhasset. Success led them to address other community roadways. Indeed, the Coalition’s focus on research, public education, advocacy, and individual projects has been highly effective. Specific efforts include: Researching and creating a report which was then presented to Town and County officials. Coordinating ‘Safety Day’, a fun event which drew broad community involvement Conducting diverse efforts to teach and promote motorist and pedestrian responsibility, including the creation of magnets that drivers can display as a symbol of their support for the campaign. Actively involving youth in the organization, including a contest throughout all area schools to design the coalition’s logo. Spearheading the ‘Community Courtesy Campaign’, an effort that transcends the issue of traffic safety by asking people to intentionally offer three acts of courtesy per day. Imagine the possibilities if there were organizations like this in every community on Long Island! We thank the Coalition for a Safer Manhasset for their work and for allowing us to highlight their efforts at our 2005 Smart Growth Summit. We hope that this organization will serve as a model for traffic calming, pedestrian safety, and general community efforts island-wide. Go back
*Preserving Open Space and The Environment* Baywalk Waterfront Park Port Washington North Village of Port Washington North, Town of North Hempstead, Residents For A More Beautiful Port Washington 2006 It is a rare treat when a new park is created in a developed environment. The Village of Port Washington North, the Town of North Hempstead and Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington are being honored for their effort to create such public space in the densely populated Port Washington area. The Bay Walk Waterfront Park will stretch 1.8 miles along the Manhasset Bay and Sheets Creek Channel. Plans also include traffic calming and beautification of the adjacent Shore Road. Efforts to plan, fund and implement the designs were truly collaborative. They included the Town of North Hempstead, neighboring municipalities, community organizations and elected officials. Village of Port Washington North Mayor Bob Weitzner spearheaded the effort, coordinating the private funding of various initiatives, including walkability audits. Public benefit packages with private development were then leveraged to secure substantial State funds to assist planning and construction of the park. Go back
*Reinvesting in and Strengthening Communities* New Cassel Revitalization Town of North Hempstead Sustainable Long Island, Unified New Cassel Corporation 2005 The Town of North Hempstead, Sustainable Long Island (SLI) and the Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization Corp. (UNCCRC) are being honored for their extraordinarily successful effort to strengthen and revitalize the hamlet of New Cassel. Their efforts have brought this community together to shape their future, and have generated over $80Million dollars in private real estate development. For nearly fifteen years the Town of North Hempstead has been using its Federal Community Development Block Grant program, State funding and various Brownfield grants to purchase properties on the Prospect Avenue corridor in New Cassel. The effort advanced in 2001, when SLI and the UNCCRC came together with local civic leaders and the Town to plan an ambitious revitalization for the struggling downtown. In 2002, the UNCCRC, the Town of North Hempstead, and SLI executed a community visioning process, “Seeking a Shared Vision for New Cassel”. The process convened 600 community residents, business owners, civic groups, clergy, and elected officials to create a viable plan for Prospect Avenue — New Cassel’s main commercial corridor. The resulting vision was adopted by the Town of North Hempstead and, in December 2004, groundbreaking began on projects the community had identified as priorities. Plans include a joint proposal with local businesses committed to opening a supermarket and an Internet café. A bank and a pharmacy are also planned for Prospect Avenue. Additionally, fortysix rental units and twelve condominiums will be built in the downtown area. The New Cassel Revitalization is one of many endeavors that the Town of North Hempstead will undertake in partnership with local organizations. It spotlights how significant public investment on the Federal, State, County and Town level, when planned properly with community input, can help rebuild a downtown. Go back
*Creating Walkable Neighborhoods* Traffic Calming Program Village of Great Neck Plaza 2005 The Village of Great Neck Plaza is being honored for their innovative traffic calming program to address pedestrian safety and walkability in the heart of Great Neck. Although the Village is small, its central location subjects it to the same traffic and pedestrian safety problems associated with busy city centers. The area encompasses a Central Business District, a multiple-unit dwelling center, and it serves as the commercial and transportation hub for the entire Great Neck Peninsula including eight other villages and several unincorporated areas. The Village’s multi-project program has been championed by Mayor Jean Celender, head of JAC Planning. It seeks to calm traffic, enhance the visibility of pedestrians to approaching motorists, and to improve safe crosswalk usage. Funding is derived largely from New York State Department of Transportation “Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming” grants. Completed improvements include a roundabout immediately adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road Station in Great Neck. This traffic calming device is streamlining auto traffic while greatly improving pedestrian safety. Other improvements include clearlyidentified pedestrian crossings, speed awareness devices, illuminated pedestrian crossing signs, and handicap-accessible sidewalk ramps. A second roundabout is proposed for the opposite side of the Long Island Rail Road overpass to mitigate pedestrian safety problems similar to those which occurred at the south intersection. The Village also proposes to extend the eastbound LIRR platform beneath the roundabout, giving commuters the option to avoid the crosswalk altogether. Lastly, the installation of “Bulb-Outs” on Bond Street will serve to slow vehicles entering the roadway in both directions, shorten crossing distances for pedestrians, and provide additional cues to motorists that they are entering an area with high pedestrian activity. The most ambitious portion of the program is a controversial road narrowing proposed for Great Neck Road. While measures like this taken in other parts of the country have been highly successful, many in the area are highly concerned that removing lanes, while perhaps making things safer for pedestrians, will cause automotive nightmares. While the Village maintains confidence in the traffic projections of project planners, they have agreed to have the consultants check their numbers twice. The Village of Great Neck Plaza’s traffic calming program is an ambitious and comprehensive approach to activiting walkable neighborhoods. Their program is clearly a model for the rest of Long Island.
BEFORE

AFTER


Go back *Creating Walkability - Nassau County* Mill Pond Acres Port Washington Sandy Hollow Associates, LLC 2003 Mill Pond Acres, a proposed senior housing development consisting of 250 townhouse condominium units, will be located on a 40 acre site in the Village of Port Washington North. This proposed development was designed in an environmentally sensitive manner. Sixty-nine percent of the site will be preserved as open space, including natural areas, lawn and landscaped areas, and a network of man-made ponds. The ponds will be used for irrigation and storm water management. The benefits of this are the increased recharge of storm water through the pond system as well as the significant reduction of well water use by utilizing the pond water for all site irrigation. Sandy Hollow Associates, the project developer, is also providing a comprehensive community benefits package as part of the overall development program. This includes the donation of 8 acres of land (20% of total property size) to be used by the Village of Port Washington North for a community recreation center and bird sanctuary. Furthermore, Sandy Hollow Associates is providing an $875,000 contribution to the Village for open space preservation and a Waterfront Park project. Sandy Hollow Associates also included a 7-day-a-week Jitney service for Mill Pond residents in order to reduce local traffic. The service will provide residents with transportation to local shops, supermarkets, movie theaters, the Public Library, and Port Washington Train Station. The development embodies many of the tenets of Smart Growth, and is a model for the development of moderately priced housing on Long Island. Mill Pond Acres exemplifies many of the principles of Smart Growth through the community planning process, public benefits package, transportation access and walkability. Many of the elements of this project will serve as a model for other developments and redevelopments throughout Long Island. Go back