The board voted Tuesday 5-2 in favor of controversial plan to purchase and refurbish 7.385 acres of the Roslyn Country Club, which will become .
The town will spend $2 million, through its environmental legacy fund, which preserves open space, to purchase the property from Manny Malekan, and to issue $7.5 million in bonds to renovate the facility. The property includes a pool and tennis courts.
The vote came after a nearly two-and-a-half hour discussion, with dozens of people waiting their turn to speak at the podium in the standing-room only boardroom, with spillover into the hallway.
One side of the room was occupied mostly by people sporting a "ToNH Vote Yes" sticker on their clothing.
And while supporters saw the facility as a benefit to North Hempstead, pointing to the and Tully facilities, as well as the chance to preserve open space, opponents worried about the economic strain the purchase would impose on taxpayers.
Take New Hyde Park resident Jim McHugh, who said he does not anticipate that the town will get the membership required to break even or be profitable.
"There's no way in God's little green acre that this will pay for itself," McHugh said.
The Williston Park Civic Group presented a petition to the town with 300 signatures of people against the purchase.
Addressing concerns about increased taxes, said that if the town's estimations are wrong, the taxpayer may pay an additional $1 or $2 as a result of Levitt Park. He added that if the property makes more money than it needs for maintenance, that money would used to better the town.
As part of the agreement, Malekan will maintain his ownership of the catering facility. Kaiman said that the details of the agreement were being finalized with the understanding that the local school district's taxes would not be impacted.
Board Members Angelo Ferrara, R-New Hyde Park, and Dina DeGiorgio, R-Port Washington, were the only two voting against the plan.
Ferrara said he feels everyone on the board aims to do what is right for the town. He said he voted against the plan because he does not want to leave debt for future generations.
He would have supported the measure, he added, had it been designed so that the town gives area residents the $2 million from the environmental legacy fund, with the provision that those residents then maintain the property.
Still, before voting, Ferrara said that his decision is not based on politics. He said he worries about the "Pandora's box" opened by the measure because now other pools in disprepair can potentially take the same route.
Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, D-Great Neck, said before she voted that she is looking at the overall picture for the town and voted yes.
After being implored by one resident to table this vote and to represent the people from her district, Councilwoman Lee Seeman, D-Great Neck Estates, said, "I want my grandchildren to remember how I voted. I voted to preserve 7.5 acres of open land."
this move by Kaiman's zombi Board is another example of stupid lack of knowledge of fiscal responsibility . The carrying cost of this private club will be $100,000 per month do you really believe membership fees will pay for this project? get ready for higher taxes .
My compliments to Ms. DiGiorgio and Mr. Ferrara for their foresight and ability to see through the smoke and mirrors.
The owner during his remarks on the record said "I had a meeting with Tom Dwyer (Councilman man for Roslyn hts) in las Vegas". at which point Dwyer stopped him saying " Many (Malekan) stop stop you know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" So what happened in Vegas??? how much did Dwyer get paid to push the purchase of the country club ? e mail Dwyer and ask him .
Dwyert@northhempsteadny.gov
Not sure why so many just discount the Town's revenue/cost projections. There's support from the local RCC+ surrounding communities and fees the Town projects are lower than other local pools. No one knows for sure (I sure don't), but 1,000 doesn't look unattainable. I think predictions that it will fall far short of this goal won't come true and are like the "sky is falling" concerns of local residents that streets will be jammed cars every weekend. On costs, TONH should hit the number REALLY close--they are in this biz. At the meeting this seemed cheaper than a nearby private facility that is decades old and this is new so it makes sense. I do think it's a fair point that since it's at a price some residents won't want to spend (or can't), there should be a high level of comfort that it will cover costs or come close. This seems be the case. Joe, I think you are dead wrong. The developer that owns the land will do just that if he can defeat the neighbors easements. He has tried to do it for a long time. Why do you think it's unlikely? Ferrara said he votes against ALL bonding. Fine in theory, but not sure it's practical and it tries to make a hard question easy. It shouldn't. For an A+ he needs to do work harder.
most of their time giving away our tax monies to the few connected people?
1. Park should serve an unmet need--it'll be different in location, character, amenities and price from the rest, I doubt there's a lot of debate there. 2. Should have a reasonable likelihood to run as advertised (no meaningful affect on taxes). Because of cheap buy-in (a la Harbor Links and Bar Beach and East Hill), seems possible (though without being an expert it's hard to say it's likely or not--but I see no reason to think Town's numbers are unreliable). 3. Even if likely to succeed, fees should not be truly exclusionary. Current sub-$1K price, while not cheap--and clearly not every resident would choose to spend-- doesn't seem shockingly high. Arguments to the contrary seem a little PC to me. Any of these points can be debated--and should be--but unless Im missing a lot, I just don't see the basis of an uprising here. Can't help thinking that someone’s whipping people t up here, b/c I just don't see the basis. Finally, I know some of the people working on this. Don't believe they have any special "connections." I'm happy to reexamine any of these points. But the tone should change...As long as we do it respectfully (i promise to respect your POV too).
No one is whipping me up - just the $ and the facts. Mineola is in the TONH and the VIllage has its own pool which we pay for in our taxes. Thus almost no residents of Mineola will ever consider using the Roslyn pool. Same is true for some of the other Villages in the TONH. Why should we want to support an additional pool? I can understand as a resident of the TONH having to support a pool that is priced affordable to the masses. I'm totally opposed to a pool that will have a small membership with an unaffordable costs to most residents.If you want it set it up as a special district I have no problem with it. My taxes are on the hook if the TONH predictions don't materialize and also for unanticipated infrastructure costs. As a former auditor with the GAO, now the Goverment Accountability Office, I've seen too many examples of over zealous estimations on the part of local government officials. Need I say more?