Serving Manhasset
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Friday, March 6, 2015
Vol. 3, No. 10
County adds Intersection fix Dowling champions to heroin fight eyed in Flower Hill immigrants PAGE 8
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Mount Olive zoning change taken to court
ope n h o u s e
East Hills resident sues town over environmental review of proposal B Y B I LL SAN ANTON I O An environmental activist from Roslyn’s Village of East Hills filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a North Hempstead Town Council vote to approve a change in zoning for a proposed senior housing development on a portion of the Mount Olive site in Manhasset. In a Feb. 25 petition filed in state Supreme Court, Richard Brummel alleged the council violated the State Environmental Quality Review Act by failing to “properly analyze all the known issues connected with the zoning change” in reducing the minimum parcel size from five acres to two acres in its Oct. 21, 2014 vote. Brummel alleges the zoning change enables G&G Acquisitions, which has plans to construct a 72-unit senior housing complex at the 3.19-acre site and rid the property of contaminants that have deemed it a “brownfield” site by various environmental agencies, to demolish a wooded area near the adjacent Spinney Hill development.
He also alleges the town ignored testimony that a rezoning of the site would be illegal under the State Environmental Quality Review Act unless it first conducted an environmental review of Spinney Hill. He is seeking an annulment of the decision. In a statement, North Hempstead Town Attorney Elizabeth Botwin said: ““We are confident that the recent change in zoning law to make it easier to build affordable senior housing was done in a thoughtful process that fully complied with the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act.” Efforts to reach G&G Acquisitions, which has an office in Jericho, were unavailing. Brummel is also currently involved in litigation against the town over an air stripper project approved for construction within Christopher Morley Park in North Hills that is meant to rid the contaminant Freon-22 from the Roslyn Water District’s well in the neighboring Village of Roslyn Estates.
PHOTO courtesy of st mary’s schools
St. Mary’s students lead Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum on a walking tour of the parish’s schools during an open house for elected officials on Friday. See story on Page 3.
Appointed Manor trustee seeks full term on board B Y B I LL SAN ANTON I O When James Baydar accepted his appointment to the Plandome Manor village board last September, he said it came with the understanding that he
would run for a full two-year term in March. It’s March. He’s running. “I knew it would be something I’d have to run for if I wanted to continue to serve, which I’m happy to do,” said Baydar, who is running un-
opposed on March 18 on the village’s Action Party ticket, which includes Mayor Barbara Donno, seven-term Trustee Matthew Clinton and Village Justice Sal Saul Kobrick. Baydar, a medical malpracContinued on Page 58
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