Dear Mr. Sussman,
As a West Hempstead resident for over 32 years, it is disappointing to learn that the MTA is strongly considering eliminating our weekend service. It is quite unexpected turn of events since it was just a few months ago that the President of the MTA stood in solidarity with our community applauding the sale of the Courtesy Motel, to Trammel Crowe Developers. Their plan was to build luxury apartment rental apartments close to a transportation.
Truth be told, this is not the first time our line has been threatened with extinction and each time cooler heads prevailed and our line was saved at the last minute. The West Hempstead Community depends on our train service bother weekday and weekend. We fear that the elimimation of Saturday and Sunday service is just a prelude to cancellation of weekday trains as well. This will be a devastating blow to the growth of our community. It will force our families to purchase a second car or travel by bus to other stations creating a financial hardship. Right now the fact that we are on an existing line makes West Hempstead and attractive place for young couples to move.
It is my fervent hope and the hope of my friends and neighbors that the MTA will abandon the plans to eliminate weekend service to our line.
Yours truly,
Helen Schulman
No Way To Run A Railroad
The MTA giveth, and the MTA taketh away.
Not long ago, MTA President (LIRR) Helena Williams stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, proudly announcing the creation of the town's first transit-oriented zone, enabling West Hempstead to begin the revitalization of a long-neglected, though critically vital gateway.
"This is a unique opportunity to create rental units nearby a LIRR station while at the same time resolving a community issue," said Ms. Williams. "There's been a lot of discussion lately about 'transit-oriented development' on Long Island but the Town of Hempstead is actually doing it. This kind of housing represents the future for Long Island. The LIRR is delighted to be part of the solution to what has been a difficult local problem for many years."
How quickly lofty words can be drowned out by the din of a fading train whistle.
Central to the redevelopment of this area, by way of the construction of high-end rental units (Trammel-Crow), is the proximity of the project not only to our community's central business district along Hempstead Avenue, but to the West Hempstead line of the Long Island Railroad.
Indeed, the very success of the renewal process is dependent, as the zoning suggests, upon being "transit oriented."
For the MTA to propose the termination of weekend service on the West Hempstead line, at this most decisive moment in what is central to the rebirth of our community, is to stand reason on head, a slap in the face of the good people of West Hempstead, who have endured, over too many years, cuts in service, a station house unworthy of our community, and virtually nonexistent maintenance of MTA facilities, bordering on abandonment.
The utter failure of the MTA to keep its own house in order, on track to a surplus one day, derailed into deficit the next, has made mockery of the public trust. It seems almost contrived to say, "this is no way to run a railroad."
The MTA may well view the West Hempstead branch of the LIRR as the end of the line. Be assured, West Hempsteaders view our status as a transit-oriented community as only the beginning of our hamlet's resurgence.
On behalf of the Dashing Dans of West Hempstead, Hempstead Gardens, Lakeview, and points west, and the next generation of LIRR riders, I implore the MTA to keep the trains running in West Hempstead.
Sincerely,
Seth D. Bykofsky
The writer, a longtime community advocate, is a former president of the West Hempstead Civic Association
When One Door Closes. . .
The recent bankruptcy of National Wholesale Liquidators, and the store’s prospective closing, cast a shadow over the Turnpike, as residents ponder the loss of tax revenues, and shake their heads in disbelief at the thought of yet another vacant commercial premises in West Hempstead.
Even so, there is reason for optimism in this community’s business district, and more than just wishful thinking that Liquidator’s liquidation -- and perhaps the end of an era for this not quite shopping mecca that once was home to S. Klein and Shopper’s Village – is the precursor of much better days to come.
Consider this. Instead of an empty, unsightly 1950s building (a damper on the Turnpike’s resurgence, at best), surrounded by similarly outmoded and dysfunctional properties (the long-vacant Breslin site; the old Mutual Fuel Oil building on the Avenue; the AVF waste transfer facility adjacent to the railroad station along Hempstead Gardens Drive), why not open the door for the global redevelopment of the Liquidator’s venue, and all of its downcast environs?
After all, the so-called Urban Renewal Plan, though neither artfully drawn by the Town of Hempstead, nor fully approved, in its present incarnation, by the Nassau County Planning Commission, has been drafted and sits in waiting. Did not Town Supervisor, Kate Murray, envision a more universal approach to the improvement of this part of West Hempstead, beyond merely tearing down a hotel? And wasn’t it County Executive, Tom Suozzi, who said that West Hempstead had the potential to have a “cool downtown?”
Imagine the stark and altogether seedy landscape bounded by the Turnpike, the Avenue, Broad Street to the east, and Westminster to the west, transformed into a vibrant, vital mix of retail, residential, and recreational space. In the process, we create jobs, construct sustainable housing, and stimulate the local economy. Now that, friends and neighbors, would be “smart growth!”
With Alexan at West Hempstead Station as anchor, a revitalized shopping district along a streetscaped Hempstead Avenue mere steps away, and a train ride to the city literally at the doorstep (presuming the MTA doesn’t curtail service), the evolution of these underutilized parcels – relics of a past life that today stand only as roadblocks to our suburban revival – is within this community’s grasp.
True, on Long Island, planning is too often afterthought, and zoning is by exception, rather than rule. Still, where there is abundant vision, coupled with unbounded determination, anything is possible – even a renaissance in West Hempstead!
Sincerely,
Seth D. Bykofsky
West Hempstead, New York
October 2, 2008
Supervisor Kate Murray
Hempstead Town Board
1 Washington Street
Hempstead, NY 11550
Re: Closure of the Courtesy Hotel
Dear Supervisor Murray:
I received your letter dated September 16th thanking me for my attendance at that morning’s Town Board meeting. While I appreciate the gesture, I find your letter and some of your remarks at the meeting quite disingenuous. You state “nothing is more valuable than the input derived from our citizenry.” Well, the citizenry of West Hempstead, along with a myriad of organizations and your elders in the Republican Party, have, for almost a decade, been broadcasting a very strong and clear message of, to quote the July 21 Skelos/Alfano letter to you, “the Courtesy Hotel must be removed – and removed immediately.” In light of the fact that the establishment is still conducting brisk business (much of it criminal), notwithstanding your Mother’s Day 2007 promise to close it by year-end 2007, your words ring quite hollow.
Additionally, you state “that town government always strives to achieve solutions to problems which are in the best interests of the majority of our residents”. Without a doubt, the majority of the residents of the Town, and not just West Hempstead, would agree that not only does the Courtesy Hotel not bring any value to the Town, but, in fact, it is also a stain on the reputation of and quality of life in the Town and needs to be shuttered immediately.
Your letter also talks about public participation being steeped in our American tradition. You seem to have forgotten that our American democratic tradition is predicated on the social contract in which your authority is derived from the consent of the governed. And, the governed elected you to provide, first and foremost, for its safety and well-being. The continued existence of the hotel threatens both.
At the meeting, when paying tribute to some heroic individuals, you also said “we are all connected”. I am certain that if the Courtesy were located within a stone’s throw from your house in Levittown and was presenting a clear and present danger to the good people, adults and children alike, of Levittown, you would move Mount Everest to have it closed right away. Clearly, we are NOT all connected because what’s good for Levittown is not good for West Hempstead.
Supervisor, actions speak louder than words, so, I urge you to affirm your Republican credentials and let a market solution (the Trammell proposal), as opposed to a government-imposed one (the URP) go through without delay.
Ariel Nurieli
cc: Senator Dean Skelos
Assemblyman Tom Alfano
Legislator Vincent Muscarella
Slowly Turn The Wheels
By Seth D. Bykofsky
If Rome wasn’t built in a day, could it be that someone was getting time-and-a-half? If local government had a hand in the building process, Romans would still be waiting for a Blight study!
When my wife and I moved to West Hempstead some 23 years ago (seems like only 22), we were expecting our first child, and the County of Nassau was about to hold a public “scoping” session, laying out long-awaited (even then) plans to reconstruct that which is – or was – our hamlet’s “Main Street,” Hempstead Avenue.
Today, nearly a generation later, that first child is in graduate school, and work has finally begun - in earnest, or otherwise - on the Avenue.
Its great to see the construction crews – not to mention the prospect of sewers that actually hold water, and a roadbed that doesn’t resemble the lunar landscape (and let’s not forget Victorian-style streetlamps, should Kate Murray deem West Hempstead worthy) – but one gnawing question remains: What in the name of our County legislator took so darn long?
At the western terminus of reconstruction, there lies a passive (according to the County) park at Hall’s Pond.
Since my first visit to that park, back in May of 1985, I’ve been moved, not by the innate beauty or pastoral grandeur of this green space, but rather, by the utter state of disrepair in seeming perpetuity.
Broken benches. Weed-strewn grounds. Overgrown paths. Vandalized gazebo. A million dollar filtration system that worked for all of an hour. A pond, the centerpiece of Hall’s, little more than an open sewer.
And today, a head of gray hairs and two environmental bond acts later, that pond, that park, remain not bucolic havens from the hustle and bustle of the Avenue, but rather, reflections of the neglect and indifference of government that should do more, that could do more, but simply chooses not to.
Yes, plans are in the works to turn bond money into plowshares (or something like that). Indeed, the plans look magnificent – on paper. But just one question: What in the name of no less than two County Executives is taking so darn long?
Last, but surely not least on this walk down memory lane, lying at our eastern gateway along that same stretch of Avenue, is the grand lady of infamy herself – West Hempstead’s Courtesy Hotel.
The war waged to shutter and raze the Courtesy is, of course, still in its infancy, going on a mere 14 years. If the Hempstead Avenue and Hall’s Pond Park experiences are guideposts, we’ve got about another decade to go before the last assault upon decency and community takes place at this den of iniquity. [Tack on yet another 10 years for the closure of the Capri.]
And again I ask, what in the name of she of failed promises and the myopic vision of which a faulty and futile urban renewal plan is an insidious by-product is taking so darn long?
Yes, the wheels of progress turn slowly, when they turn at all. Look, it has taken some forty-five years to get from “I have a dream,” and nearly twice that since women got the vote, to the point where America is poised to give moment to what most, just a year ago, considered mere pipedreams.
But we’re not talking about putting a woman on the GOP ticket or electing the first African-American president of the United States. Heck, we’re not even talking about lowering property taxes or reigning in the special taxing districts (although we should be).
No, we’re talking about fixing a road, maintaining a park, and starting to rebuild a community by closing a no-tell hotel.
What, in the name of a populace that should expect more and demand better, is taking so darn long?
- - -
The writer, a longtime community advocate, is a former president of the West Hempstead Civic Association.
Town Should Let History Repeat Itself
While Supervisor Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead continue to allow the Courtesy Hotel to remain open for business, they would do well to keep in mind that our own history is the best guide to planning our future. In May 1947, the TOH board approved an historic zoning change which paved the way for the development of Levittown, America’s first planned suburb. Facing a postwar housing shortage of epic proportions, Hempstead Town had the brave foresight to set a bold and controversial precedent for what was then a sleepy potato farm community, and facilitate what ultimately heralded the greatest period of growth in the history of Long Island.
Over 60 years later, Long Island suffers from another dearth in the housing market, squeezing throngs of middle class residents - especially those in the ever-vital young adult demographic – off the Island. This shortage is especially acute in the rental market, in which only 20 percent of the Island’s housing is multiple-dwelling, compared with a national average of 33 percent, according to a recent report. Left unchecked, the resulting mass exodus of our young workforce will continue to have an ever increasingly devastating effect on Long Island’s economic vitality. Much like Levittown (albeit on a smaller scale), the proposal for upscale apartments on the Courtesy Hotel site by Trammel Crow Residential is designed to directly combat this shortage. Adjacent to the West Hempstead train station, the site is uniquely suited to conform to “smart growth” principles and transit-oriented zoning that Nassau’s incorporated villages are implementing with broad success. Importantly, the project also happens to enjoy near unanimous support of West Hempstead residents and civic groups.
Just as it did then, Supervisor Murray and the Town Board will need to modify existing zoning regulations in order to push this worthy project forward. Will these elected leaders have the foresight to challenge precedent and adapt to the new realities of Long Island’s housing market, or will they surrender to blinding timidity and inaction? Will our Supervisor apply the lessons that have been substantiated by the evolution and upgrowth of her beloved hometown, or will she be guided by ulterior motives? With history as the greatest teacher, let us hope that the Supervisor and the Town board will choose sensibility over single-mindedness. Their lasting legacy is riding on it.
Joseph Azose
West Hempstead Resident
May 20th - Not To Be Missed
My wife and I no longer have children in the West Hempstead public schools. The oldest is pursuing a rigorous course of graduate study; the youngest, completing her freshman year at a prominent university.
We wistfully look at the school calendar these days – back-to-school night, PTSA meetings, Parent-Teacher conferences, college planning sessions, and sundry, seemingly daily occasions to gulp down a quick dinner after a long day’s work, with barely time to catch our breath, before heading over to the school – and offer a mutual sigh of relief, as if to say, “We don’t miss that!”
True, we do miss the concerts, plays, honor society inductions, achievement dinners, Class Nights, and that close connection that accompanies the sometimes frenetic pace of school days, when our lives revolved more around our kids than ourselves. Yet, there is one thing we surely will not miss, and never have – the opportunity to vote (and to vote YES) on the school budget.
Our children may have “graduated” from the public schools – well prepared for the challenges of higher education that succeeded the conferring of high school diplomas, I might add – but our commitment to the education of all of our children is ongoing. As learning is a lifetime experience for all of us, so too must be our continuing commitment to the education of every child, the future of this community, and the hope of this nation.
On Tuesday, May 20, residents will be called upon once again to support the endeavors of our schools, to show up and lend a hand as our children take the next step toward a responsible adulthood, and to renew their commitment to education as the very cornerstone of community itself.
Truly, this is an opportunity not to be missed!
Sincerely,
Seth D. Bykofsky
West Hempstead, NY
Letter from resident Bob Smith to Town Supervisor Kate Murray
I hate to say this but the action of the Town Board in refusing to accept the will of a goodly number of West Hempstead residents, in their petitions to close the Courtesy Motel, and allow the present owners of the motel to sell it to a bona fide nationally known developer and instead "go" the route of condemnification, is beyond my comprehension. Correct me if I am wrong but I'm led to believe that James Darcy, who represents a small section of West Hempstead, was the originator of the motion to deny residents of their desire. Shame on him, if true.
There are many of us here in West Hempstead who have lost faith in our elected officials to act in our behalf and many 'probably' wish this vote had been made before the last general election, which might have had severe consequences had it been done and could have put an entire new Board in place in the Town Government.
This is not just my opinion as evidenced by articles in the local press from several prominent religious and lay persons residing and working in the West Hempstead area and environs.
I also note that the Mineola Government has just approved construction of residential property similar to that proposed by Trammel Crow, the bidder on the Courtesy property, with similar density, so that even though Mineola has the legal right to allow this to come to pass, it seems that the Town of Hempstead could have allowed this sale to go forward instead of almost guaranteeing years of legal battles over this whole matter.
My personal opinion, Ms Murray with the hope that you will continue to support the activities of local West Hempstead civic and fraternal organizations, as you have in the past, as we all look forward to the future of West Hempstead in spite of this setback.
Note: My wife and I have been residents of West Hempstead for 56 years an active in many local organizations for those many years.
Robert W Smith
West Hempstead Resident
We Shall Not Stand Idly By
An editorial in this week’s Herald (“A better project for suburbia”) echoed the sentiments of the great majority of West Hempsteaders vis-à-vis the fate of the infamous Courtesy hotel: “Let the market accomplish its certain and swift solution in this case, and let the government move on to matters that require its intervention.”
At the same time, the Long Island Index released a study that revealed a majority of Long Islanders in favor of increased housing density in and around “downtown” business districts, as well as the creation of additional rental units, thus easing the affordable housing crunch.
Unfortunately, the voices of reason, the press, expertise, and community collectively fell upon deaf ears at Hempstead Town Hall, as members of the Town Board, blindly following the lead of Supervisor Kate Murray as she meanders down that road of suburban blight, voted to adopt the ill-conceived – or as the Herald put it, “last ditch, desperate effort” – Urban Renewal Plan.
In so doing, the Town nixed the Trammell-Crow proposal to build upscale rental apartments on the Courtesy site, citing its objection to density, and rebuffed the pleas of a community to boldly move forward, not only with the revitalization of its eastern gateway, but with a smart growth initiative that could well serve as a model for the new – and sustainable – suburbia.
In taking a staunch and unyielding position, contrary to both the conventional wisdom on fashioning livable suburbs, and to the will of the community they were elected to serve, Kate Murray and the Hempstead Town Board stood modern precepts of suburban revitalization on head, and negated the very hallmark of representative government – a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
The latest skirmish before the Town Board may have dealt a blow to our hamlet’s, if not the township’s, efforts to rebuild and rejuvenate, but as anyone who has been joined in this battle to take back our town (now going on thirteen long years) will tell you, we, as a community, and as the guardians of this hamlet’s tomorrows, shall not stand idly by as Kate Murray & Company hold hostage our town’s future.
The fight will go on, in the trenches along the Avenue, at Town Hall, and in the press, for we dare not surrender to those who would usurp local control and undermine the wishes of the governed, under the guise of telling us what is best for our own community.
Sincerely,
Seth D. Bykofsky
West Hempstead, New York
West Hempstead Kiwanis Club Expresses Gratitude for Generosity
The following was sent to local papers as a Letter to the Editor
On October 2, a tree limb fell on the Kiwanis Club Sept 11 garden in Halls Pond Park breaking the memorial plaque beyond repair. We wish to express our thanks to the Herald Newspapers for publicizing our fundraising efforts to restore this memorial. We also want to publicly thank Legislator Vinny Muscarella for his prompt response to our plea for help the day after the accident. Nassau County workers removed the tree limb and debris the next morning and members of the club were able to properly assess the damage and develop a plan for restoration of this community garden. As mentioned in the Herald story on October 11, we need county approval for any work in Halls Pond Park. Vinny’s concerned efforts hastened the county park department’s actions and we are confident now that the memorial can be restored quickly once we raise the needed funds.
Our fundraising effort is well underway after the Street Fair held on October 14. Legislator Muscarella and Councilman Ambrosino made generous donations to start our fund and through their generosity and others’ that day, we are well on the way to our goal. Donations are still needed, however, and can be sent to: West Hempstead Kiwanis Club P.O. Box 222, West Hempstead, NY 11552. We appreciate any help towards this effort to restore our memorial for those who perished on 9-11 six years ago.
Comments and Reactions to the Town of Hempstead's West Hempstead Urban Renewal Plan
As a young professional couple living in West Hempstead, we believe we have a critical perspective on this plan. We are very lucky to be homeowners on Long Island - it is only by family support and market timing that we were able to buy a home in 2003. Most of our peers can only afford to rent, and on Long Island the availability of rentals is very small. This and the affordability of home ownership causes many of our peers to move to other areas.
Although we are a minority and an exception to the “brain drain”, we have the same needs and desires that our peers have. And some of the same things that drive our peers away cause us to often question whether we should move too.
The results of the blight study and the proposed closing of the Courtesy Hotel provide us a great opportunity to dramatically improve this area and its economic outlook: We would like to see our community grow to have a younger, more vibrant face and support a healthier and sustainable lifestyle. We would like to have an attractive “walk-able” downtown with interesting shops and restaurants, providing local opportunities for shopping, dining, socializing, and recreation, yet preserving a neighborhood feel. This is much-needed for Nassau County, as the only nice downtowns in Long Island are in very affluent areas. Downtowns bring in revenue and create a sense of community.
In considering the Town’s plan and the Commission’s comments we would like to add our own commentary, which we think represents the feeling of a critical population.
Density – The highest density possible of market rate housing should be allowed for the area adjacent to the train station. The more people with comfortable incomes, the more positive the impact. Even the town’s studies show more positive impacts and no negative impacts from the higher density proposed. How can new retail flourish without customers, if we have vacant storefronts already? (We do NOT want more 99-cent stores, storage facilities, check cashing, or furniture rental places!) WE WANT TO TRANSFORM THE AREA, NOT JUST GIVE IT A FACELIFT! We understand that the town worries about the precedent a higher density would set, but there must be some sort of zoning legislation that could prevent the risk of destructive over-development.
Trammel-Crow Private Sale – West Hempstead residents favor this for a number of reasons. Most obviously it is the quickest way to get rid of the Courtesy Hotel – but we also like other aspects of their proposal: The higher density is the most likely to have a significant positive social and economic impact – by attracting young professionals to the area we begin to change the social and economic landscape in a positive way (not just the physical landscape). In addition the plan for underground parking (for residents) makes a lot of sense. The wider spacing and deeper setbacks seem more attractive then the town’s plan. While Trammel Crow’s vision stops at the hotel site, their vision for the hotel site is a good centerpiece to begin the transformation of the area. In every way this seems better than an Eminent Domain takeover, which comes with legal delays and costs as well as eroding the public’s trust in elected officials. We hope that the town can negotiate with TC to allow the private sale to take place.
No Low Income Housing – We do not see how this will have a positive impact on a currently blighted area.
Expanded scope – The commission’s idea to expand the scope of the Urban Renewal area is an excellent one, as the perceived blight extends North to Hempstead Turnpike and South on Hempstead Gardens Drive and Hempstead Avenue. We need to address the empty retail spaces – not just add a few more. Attending to the area as a whole will increase the likelihood of a real transformation.
General Clean Up – While a few pavers and plantings will not do anything significant, it is essential to have a general beatification of the area and existing structures, particularly the Wholesale Liquidators building and those businesses on Hempstead Gardens Drive, as who would want to live surrounded by these structures in their current state (in either TC or Town plan).
“Walk-able Downtown” and Green Space – this is another wonderful goal, and will be the draw for people to come into the neighborhood for living, shopping, and recreation – a much-needed source of revenue. It seems that this is another justification for a higher density. We would really love for West Hempstead to have a walk-able downtown that helps breed a sense of community.
Parking – We do NOT like the idea of a parking garage (more than one level). It is not something that would be pleasant to walk near. It seems like a place that would be attractive for undesirable activity. Obviously parking should be provided for commuters and customers who drive to the area. Any parking area should have a plan to maximize its use – perhaps a farmers market on a weekend when commuters are not using the lot.
Don’t forget bicycles (and recreational walking/jogging) – encouraging walking and the use of alternative transportation (ex. bicycles) is a good thing. An area should be set aside for bicycle parking/locking for both commuters (near the train station) and for visitors to the area. Bicycle path / greenway connections should be planned too – especially a loop around Hempstead Lake (via Hempstead Gardens Drive and Peninsula Blvd/President St) and down Hempstead Ave to Halls Pond. Can the LIRR/LIPA right of way that extents from the West Hempstead station up to Country Life Press be developed into a bicycle path/greenway?
Up-Keep – Finally, a plan should be made for the maintenance and up keep of the improvements – who will be responsible? Is there some guiding committee of community members who will continue to look at the guide the growth of this area?
This is the perspective of a young professional couple (an endangered species on Long Island)
Nicola and Elisa Vitale
West Hempstead
Community Under Siege
For a brief time in September, a banner hung from the tower of West Hempstead’s notorious Courtesy Hotel. It read: “Re-Elect Kate Murray. We’re Still Here Because She’s Still There.” How true.
In 2003, an election year, Town Supervisor Kate Murray assured the community that the Courtesy would be closed. It wasn’t. In 2005, an election year, Town Supervisor Kate Murray again proclaimed that the Courtesy would be shuttered, and the property redeveloped. Nothing. And here we are in October, 2007, just weeks away from an election, with Town Supervisor Kate Murray the only thing standing between the closure of the Courtesy and the revitalization of West Hempstead’s eastern gateway. Will there be an “October Surprise?” It is, after all, an election year.
As the old saying goes, “fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Fool us three times? Well, you figure it out. Give the people what they want – high-end rental apartments in close proximity to the railroad, and what would become a re-energized “downtown” business district?
No. That would mean we have representative government at Hempstead Town Hall.
I can only surmise, given the temerity with which the Supervisor has resisted the will and disregarded the well being of this community, as to the ultimate fate of this part of our town. I will say, with well founded reason and history as a guide, the Courtesy won’t close until Kate Murray goes!
Who are you voting for on November 6th?
Sincerely,
Seth D. Bykofsky
West Hempstead, New York
When Swans Get Goosed - A Tale of Too Much Government, Too Little Action
As told to Seth D. Bykofsky
It's enough to ruffle anyone's feathers. No day at the pond for one family, and a travail through the thorny bramble of all too many layers of bureaucratic buffoonery for two good deed doers who championed the cause of five beautiful swans that had lost their way.
This is the story of government run afoul. The seemingly simple rescue of wayward swans that, but for the doggedness of their guardian angels, could have ended tragically. This is the story of how two citizens, connecting the dots between town, county and state, heralded the return of a swan family to their summer domicile at, of all places, Hall's Pond Park in West Hempstead.
Paula Uhl walks every morning down to the pond. On this particular summer day at around 7:15 AM, she saw 2 adult swans, each approximately 4 feet tall, walking northbound smack dab in the middle of Nassau Boulevard, their 3 signets following closely behind. It was a sight to behold.
Two motorists came to Paula's aid, attempting to corral the birds away from rush hour traffic. Cell phone in hand, Paula called Nassau's finest, who swiftly dispatched two officers in a County cruiser. The officers arrived 10 minutes later, by which time Paula and her adopted swan clan had walked half a mile or so to the Echo Park pool complex, a Town of Hempstead facility.
Siren blaring, lights flashing, the police managed only to panic and scatter the frightened birds, all to Paula's dismay. Waving off the barrage of sight and sound - that "right to remain silent" a most welcome relief -- Paula asked the officers to help her contain the animals within the partially fenced in deck of the pool. Paula herded, while the officers called the County's Animal Control unit. Paula requested the officers to remain with the birds until the proper authorities arrived. They refused, citing the possibility of something "more important" coming up. No doubt, a flock of irate sheep protesting in front of the Courtesy Hotel!
Paula, concerned that the swan family was thirsty, and seeing that one of the signets was injured and bleeding, asked the Supervisor at the Echo Park pool for some water. He refused assistance. So much for the "Summer of Love" at the Town of Hempstead.
A few Echo Park employees did try to help, but were told it was against the Town rules. [The Town has rules?] Paula ran home for a bowl of water. Once home, an exasperated Paula, already late for work, asked her husband, Michael, to mind the swans. Michael Uhl headed off to Echo Park and kept a watchful eye on the swans. He called Animal Control for an ETA, only to be told that the County doesn't handle swans. They suggested he call the Town's Bay Constable for waterfowl.
A flurry of telephone calls to the Town of Hempstead, and Michael established that the Bay Constable would arrive from his Point Lookout HQ sometime between 1 PM and 3 PM. Michael asked the Pool Supervisor to help make sure the pool's gate stayed closed so the swans would not wander off. Tightly tucked in his box, and more concerned about that evening's Elvis impersonators show than the plight of the flightless swans, the Supervisor remained unyielding. Why, he could not even spare one hardly overworked Town employee to do the job Michael and Paula's 11-year-old daughter, Sophia, was doing while Michael tried to reason with the King of Echo Park.
The Bay Constable arrived at about 1:15 PM, perfunctorily capturing the swan family, looking to take the birds down to the bay at Point Lookout. Michael implored the Constable to return the swans to their chosen summer habitat - Hall's Pond. It was to no avail. The Town knows best, after all! Alas, a compromise. [Let no one say the Town is not accommodating.] The birds would be released into Hempstead Lake. The Constable took off, swans in tow, Michael Uhl in pursuit.
Once at Hempstead Lake, yet another obstacle to the swans safe egress. "We can't let the birds go in a State Park," honked the Constable, muttering something about policy and protocol. A Town Constable retrieving wandering waterfowl from a County thoroughfare and releasing them in a State park? Unheard of! No, the swans would have to go to the bay - barring intervention by a higher authority (say, Al D'Amato). The Constable swooped up swans and headed for Point Lookout. Michael Uhl follows.
Just then, Michael sees a sign - by way of bumper sticker affixed to the Town Constable's vehicle - Supervisor Kate Murray's HELPLINE. Surely, the cuddler of lost kittens and savior of homeless dogs would have a place in her heart for our beleaguered swan family. "Kate Murray's Helpline. How may we help you?" Name, number taken. Problem noted. Michael is still waiting for a call back. Watch the mail for a Murraygram on the care and handling of swans.
Approaching 4 PM, Michael engaged the Bay Constable in talk of nature and nurture - reason, and the apparent fact that quitting time was near for the man more beholden to Town than to bay, the impasse was resolved, and the birds were returned to Hall's Pond. The swans were released at 4:15 PM, and, as the sun settled over West Hempstead, this swan song, thanks to the compassion and persistence of Paula and Michael Uhl, had a happy ending.
Our swans survived their ordeal, and a tumult that fashioned every imaginable roadblock short of the creation of a Special Swan District. And we wonder, when did it all become so complicated, so cumbersome? Pity the poor swans, who innocently happened into the clutches of the inefficiency of too much government. Pity the governed, who must pay the price for the ineptitude of government's excesses.
- - -
Paula and Michael Uhl reside in West Hempstead, as does the writer, and, at least for now, a swan family of five. Mr. Uhl is a candidate for Nassau County Legislature, 8th Legislative District.
Resident Letter to Supervisor Murray Concerning the Courtesy Hotel Redevelopment
Supervisor Murray,
I received your letter (June 25th) about the draft urban renewal plan.I also attended the hearing on July 11th with the planning commission (Board of Zoning Appeals?).
From my observations at this meeting I have NO CONFIDENCE in this process. It was apparent that the board did not even know it role (and responsibility). There was also evidence that Mr. Theofan's draft plan was not well thought out. The property owners were not consulted and some only learned of this proceeding on the day of the meeting. At least three property owners affected by the plan stated that they will fight the condemnation of their property. This is in stark contrast to the proposal for Baldwin, where property owners were consulted, and are part of the renewal process.
Personally, I find Mr. Theofan's draft plan unimaginative, and solely cosmetic. It would provide NO economic benefit. It calls for more retail space - when our community already has underutilized retail space.
It is true that one of our main goals is close the Courtesy Hotel, but we need to see this as an opportunity to transform our community. By allowing the private sale of the Courtesy Hotel to Trammel Crow, and giving them the zoning variances they need to build the density that they need, we can close the Courtesy Hotel in a matter of months. Trammel Crow's apartments would inject a great deal of private money into our community, provide much needed housing, increase our tax base, and invite young professionals to come and stay in our community. These tenants will frequent our shops, and possibly provide new markets to support good businesses in the area. This will provide a centerpiece to renewal of the area.
I implore you and the board to consider Trammel Crow's plan to privately purchase and re-develop the Courtesy Hotel property, and consider giving them the variances they need to build the density that they propose. It will result in a quicker closing of the hotel, and density of young professionals that would have a positive economic and social impact on the area. We can still do an urban renewal plan for the rest of the area, working with the community, property owners, and tenants.
If you go with Mr. Theofan's plan, you will have lots of expensive litigation, an unhappy community, and an uninspiring result.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Nicola Vitale
West Hempstead Resident
With Apologies To Rod Serling
This could be a tale about the Argo in Elmont, or that dilapidated eyesore in the backyard of Anytown, USA – the brownfield; the unattractive nuisance; the bane of a community’s well-being.
This is, however, not just another story of anywhere or any place. Anywhere is West Hempstead. And the place is the infamous Courtesy Hotel. Consider this the tale, if you will, of a local government, long on platitudes but short of vision; of a small town with a big problem. A tale we’ll call, Twilight Zoning. . .
Submitted for your approval. One downtrodden no-tell hotel. The epicenter of officially designated blight. To the east, a waste transfer station, where refuse sojourns through the night in its travels between no place and nowhere. To the west, a seemingly abandoned, litter-strewn, railroad right-of-way, home to rusting shopping carts and the invisible castaways of humanity. The end of the line, both figuratively and literally, the screeching of a train’s steel against the cold tracks, piercing the deafening silence of a community’s collective voice, too long ignored, too often diminished to a whisper. A lonely whistle-stop somewhere west of a village that both time and Town forgot.
A Zoning Board that sits as Planning Board, rarely adept at either. “Twenty miles of ugly” along the turnpike. Down on the avenue, a vigil to the ghosts of glory days past. A people, not proud of their newly-acquired designation as “blighted,” who have offered up, over years that now meander into decades, a litany of reasons to close and raze that hellish hotel, only to hear in the echoes a barrage of excuses from Town Hall – the evils of Condemnation, the short-comings of Eminent Domain, the impracticalities of the Nuisance Law. To endure, as no free and taxpaying people should have to, the consequences of malignant neglect on the part of a government that reacts but with hollow words and smiling photo ops.
That reasonable and resourceful “mix” of residential, retail, and recreational use – as proffered by the West Hempstead community since the cause of closing the Courtesy and revitalizing this gateway was first taken up in 1995 – would be the preferred route, all things being equal. Then again, in the Town of Hempstead, few things are equal, the considerations of affiliation and connection, appearances of self-dealing and shortsightedness, oft times dismissive of that which should be the overriding measures of a government’s deliberations and decision-making, to wit, the preservation of the character of a community, and the promotion of the best and highest interests of its residents.
Whether the blight with which this hamlet is burdened is forever removed by way of Condemnation or private sale, through the long-in-coming will of government intervention or the workings of the free market, these are the reflections on a town government that has lost sight of its obligation to serve, not the parochial interests of the few, but rather, the greater good of the many.
Yes, somewhere in that vast void between darkness and light, lies a hamlet whose battle weary citizens, stakeholders in a land of broken promises, persistent in the cause, descend yet again upon Town Hall to make their case and speak their minds. Somewhere, in that place we call, The Twilight Zone.
This tale was submitted, not by Rod Serling, but by West Hempstead’s own Seth Bykofsky.
Response to Courtesy Hotel Article in the NY Times on April 22
Mr. Ain of New York Times did a good job of presenting facts, illustrating the interests of the various parties and adding helpful information to questions from the last Civic meeting. If counsel Mr. Levin, representing the hotel’s owner, expresses the owner’s preference to sell, then why is the town going a different path?
The Town’s argument of the time required for rezoning and sales appears suspect, because such a time period would still be required after completion of the condemnation process. A new owner will need variances or may be required to master other hurdles. And why should those requirements then be juggled through the town’s system any faster than in Trammel Crow’s case. Talking about unnecessary friction and cost. Why would the town engage in condemnation activities of which Mr. Levin already offers the outlook of a hefty fight, when there seems to be a practical solution at hand, (article)?
Assuming that Trammel Crow is still interested , why then is the Town so opposed to the sale and a therefore a smoother process than going through condemnation? What happens should the town get the property eventually? Is it not that the town then has full leverage as to what to do with the property , in particular, whom to sell it to? If that is so, then interesting questions come to mind, but by then it will be too late.
Why go through a 2 step process when it seems clear ( Levin) that a single step process is desired, not only by Trammel Crow but I also the WH Civic Organization?
The faster this can be resolved the faster this town can look forward to a brighter future.
You have my support in this.
Rudolf Schindler
West Hempstead, NY
A Not So Short, And Less Than Courteous, Stay
Fall 1995 – West Hempstead Civic Association (WHCA) forms Committee to Close the Courtesy. WHCA President Nick D’Alessandro and Executive Vice President Seth Bykofsky selected to co-chair the committee and spearhead a grassroots movement to close hotel.
Late Fall 1995 through 1998 – WHCA leadership meets repeatedly with Town of Hempstead (TOH) Supervisor, Greg Peterson, and Town Councilman, Joe Ra, with respect to closing the Courtesy. “Assurances” given that Courtesy will be closed, Joe Ra promising, “I will close the Courtesy!” The taking of the hotel by Eminent Domain is discussed. Community meets, rallies, protests. No action is taken by the Town.
1999-2000 – Repeated meetings with TOH Supervisor Rich Guardino and Town Councilman N. Scott Banks. Banks calls continued operation of Courtesy “an outrage and an affront to the dignity of the good people of West Hempstead.” Supervisor Guardino says he has a “special place in his heart for West Hempstead,” and will “work with the community” to close down the Courtesy. The taking of the hotel by Eminent Domain is discussed. No action is taken by the Town.
2000 – Introduced by Town Councilman N. Scott Banks, the Town Board reluctantly adopts a Nuisance Law, including therein a padlock provision that permits the Town to close a commercial premises – upon due notice and public hearing – when there have been more than 2 predicate Felony arrests upon the premises within a time certain.
October 2001 – Petitions, bearing the signatures of nearly 4,000 West Hempsteaders, demanding immediate closure of the Courtesy, are hand delivered to Supervisor Guardino.
2001-2002 -- Multiple Felony arrests – rape, assault, prostitution, drug possession/sale, kidnapping, weapons charges – upon the premises of the Courtesy. Town takes no action to padlock hotel.
2001-2003 -- Numerous “walks-about-town” with Town Councilman Joe Kearney. Courtesy Hotel, the scene of ongoing criminal activity, much of it heinous in nature, is “highlight” of the tour. Community leaders, including Seth Bykofsky of the West Hempstead Civic Association and Scott Jablow of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association, implore Councilman Kearney to have the Town padlock the hotel. Action is promised. No action is taken by the Town.
2002-Mid-2005 – Ongoing discussions with Town Supervisor, Kate Murray, and, from 2003 on, regular meetings with Town Councilman, Ed Ambrosino (attended, on occasion, by Town Attorney, Joe Ra). Closure of Courtesy always on community’s front burner. Supervisor Murray calls Courtesy a “scourge” upon community, and says, “Courtesy will be closed. You have my word.” Supervisor asked to invoke padlock provision. Town refuses, citing “obstacles,” and proceeds instead during this time with a civil suit designed to close the Courtesy under the Nuisance law. Lawsuit goes nowhere. Condemnation discussed. Supervisor Murray says, “This is not the way to go!”
May 2003 – Petitions, bearing the signatures of nearly 5000 West Hempstead residents, demanding the immediate closure of the Courtesy, hand delivered to Supervisor Murray’s office. Supervisor not available to receive them. Originals left with receptionist at desk on the 4th floor of Town Hall.
June 2005 – Supervisor Murray addresses Annual Meeting of the West Hempstead Civic Association. Tells residents that Condemnation Proceedings – as used effectively to close the Oceanside Motel – would not, on a cost basis, be feasible vis-à-vis the closure of the Courtesy. Instead, Town would conduct a “Blight Study,” and proceed to close the Courtesy by Eminent Domain under the Town’s Urban Renewal law, a process expected to take 18 months. Supervisor asked by residents to padlock hotel under Nuisance law in the interim. No action taken by the Town.
Fall 2005 – “Buoyed” by the Supreme Court’s Decision in Kelo (a decision that did not change the law, but merely affirmed its longstanding application), Supervisor Murray says condemnation of the Courtesy is now a good idea. Wheels set in motion for Condemnation Proceedings to go forward.
September 2005 – Town Board adopts site plan and maps as necessary step toward the commencement of a Condemnation Proceeding, then, waiting until the 11th hour, flubs the requisite publication in Newsday. No Condemnation Proceeding is commenced.
May 2006 – Town Board adopts “Blight Study” as first step toward Eminent Domain under Town’s Urban Renewal law [Actually, Article 15 of New York State General Municipal Law.] "The town continues to work closely with the West Hempstead community to develop a plan for this area,” concluded Murray. "We are committed to making this an even better community in which to live, work and shop. West Hempstead has a bright and promising future."
Summer 2006 – Trammell-Crow enters into private contract with corporate owner of Courtesy for redevelopment of property as high-end rental units, subject to approval of zoning changes by the Town of Hempstead. Town takes “wait and see” stance.
December 2006 – Town of Hempstead issues a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from interested developers in furtherance of intended “Urban” renewal. Courtesy remains open for business as usual, notwithstanding ongoing violent criminal activity.
February 2007 – Standing room only crowd attends WHCA meeting at West Hempstead Middle School, and hears “options” as presented by Charles Theofan, Commissioner of the Town’s Department of Planning & Development. First Deputy Commander of the 5th Precinct, NCPD, informs audience that, in 2006 alone, there were some 94 “reports” emanating from the Courtesy (meaning officers actually wrote up an incident report); 46 actual arrests (many of which were Felonies); and more than 200 calls for assistance. Residents demand that Courtesy be closed NOW, charging Theofan with taking that message to Town Supervisor Kate Murray, and asking why she has failed to padlock the Courtesy under the applicable provisions of the Town’s Nuisance law.
April 2007 – Town Supervisor Kate Murray sends letter to West Hempstead residents, “updating” old news, looking to “explore” failed options. Civic and community leaders, lead by WHCA President Rosalie Norton, deliver 1400 e-mails to Town Hall, calling for the immediate closure of the Courtesy and redevelopment through private sale. No action is taken by the Town.
TODAY – The Courtesy remains open. Waterbeds and free Continental breakfast available. The next Felony only a short-stay away!
Source: Ad Hoc Committee To Close The Courtesy NOW!
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