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Friday, March 20, 2015
vol. 64, no. 12
READ ALL ABOUT US
LETTERS ISSUED ON WATER DISPUTE
MANGANO EYES ISLANDERS DEAL
PaGeS 31-40
PaGe 52
PaGe 6
• MARCH 20, 2015 NS SPECIAL SECTION / LITMOR PUBLICATIO A BLANK SLATE MEDIA
Village Green’s fate in hands of trustees Mineola board closes hearings, will close record on March 25 BY JA M ES G A L L O W AY Following a fourth public hearing last week where opinions seemed mixed on a proposed eightstory building in downtown Mineola, the village board passed a motion to close the hearings and set a March 25 deadline for residents to submit written testimony. The hearing came in the wake of two village-funded studies, both of which played a prominent role in Wednesday’s testimony: an engineering analysis that concluded the project’s traffic impacts would be minimal and a housing report that said transit-oriented growth would benefit Mineola. Just less than half of Wednesday’s speakers, including a number of local business owners, spoke in support of the proposal, known as the Village Green, while slightly more than half maintained that the building would be too large, a recurring criticism at a February hearing.
The 266-apartment, U-shaped building by developer Lalezarian Properties would be located on Second Street bordered by Mineola Boulevard and Station Plaza North. It would include restaurants and retail space on the ground floor and a pool and green space on the roof. The proposal also includes plans for a three-tiered, 478-space parking garage with 399 spots reserved for residents. A number of residents questioned the findings of both the developer- and village-funded studies, and Trustee Paul Cusato in particular questioned how the elimination of eight on-street parking spaces required by the project would have no significant impact on parking, as the traffic studies conclude. “How can you lose six spaces (on Station Plaza North) and make a comment that it would have no bearing?” Cusato asked of the study. Many residents also continued Continued on Page 66
PHOTO COURTESY OF WINTHROP-UNIvERSITY HOSPITAL
Isles warm hearts
Members of the New York Islanders visited children at Winthrop-University Hospital last week. See story on Page 3.
Williston Park letter says water talks at ‘standstill’ BY JA M ES G A L L O W AY
dispute over water rates, Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar has sent a letter from his village’s Following three rounds of Board of Trustees to the Willisclosed-door negotiations be- ton Times that says negotiations tween East Williston and Willis- had “come to a standstill once ton Park to settle a longstanding again.”
The letter, which accuses East Williston officials of making “misleading, accusatory comments” to the press, includes a 12-point proposal to East Williston, including provisions about Continued on Page 52
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