Application Withdrawn For Sr. Housing at Harbor Homes

The North Hempstead Housing Authority officially withdrew its application for the construction of a 48-unit senior housing facility at Harbor Homes at the Town of North Hempstead meeting Tuesday evening.

This came as relief to residents at the meeting, who want the facility built, but at an alternate location. At the  several were against the proposed plan to build by Harbor Homes because of concerns about traffic, privacy and preserving Alvin Petrus Park as open space.

Matthew Cuomo, chairman of the North Hempstead Housing Authority, said that he does not want to do this project apart from the community and that the Housing Authority decided it just was not the right site.

“At the last meeting there were a number of allegations that the Housing Authority were making back-room deals and things were done wrongly, but this is farthest from the truth,” Cuomo said. “We are overseen by HUD and the FHA and we have to answer to higher authorities. We still feel the site is a good site and that it is a good project, but now we will find a site that the community feels is a better location.”

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said that the Housing Authority has made a good faith effort with this proposed senior project, and then closed the hearing as the resolution was adopted for withdrawal.

"The Housing Authority will look for a better place for seniors to live,” Kaiman said.

Myron Blumenfeld, founder and board member of the Port Washington Parks Conservancy, has been against the senior facility since the beginning of the proposed project. He thanked the Town Board for making the right decision.

“Our elected officials should be applauded for listening to the people on this important issue,” Blumenfeld said. “Local government should preserve Alvin Petrus Park for future generations and it must be restored for the children. In two day the Parks Conservancy raised over $1,500 for the park’s restoration and we will now go to the community to try to get private funding.”

According to Sean Rainey, executive director of the Housing Authority, there will be a closed meeting on April 4 with several Port Washington community organizations together with the Housing Authority to discuss alternate sites.

“As of now we are not discussing what we are doing about the basketball courts, which many call Alvin Petrus Park,” Rainey said. “No one has used the site for 10 years and several Harbor Homes residents have asked to put a fence around it due to safety concerns. We want to concentrate on finding a suitable alternate site and would like to work with the community in doing so.”

This article was updated with the correct name of the organization founded by Myron Blumenfeld. It is the Port Washington Parks Conservancy.