Lighthouse a focus in race for supervisor

Essential services and property taxes are often in the forefront of the issues in the Town of Hempstead, but in this year’s race for supervisor, the rhetoric has shifted toward the proposed Lighthouse project.

Incumbent Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican, is seeking re-election to a fourth two-year term. She is being challenged by Democrat Kristen McElroy, who returned to the political realm a year after losing a tight race to longtime Republican state Sen. Kemp Hannon.

Seeking to topple a longtime Republican stronghold in the town, McElroy is campaigning in support of the Lighthouse project, the multi-billion-dollar proposal to renovate the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and develop the surrounding 150 acres. The development features more than 40 buildings, including two 36-story towers, a new convention center, a five-star hotel, a residential community, retail stores, restaurants, a sports complex and office space. The town has authority over the developers’ environmental and zoning applications.

McElroy said she is disappointed that the town has not yet reached a decision on the proposal, and accuses its leadership of being politically motivated throughout the process. “I am frustrated with how things are being run and how decisions are based on politics instead of what’s right for the people,” McElroy said. “Everything is based on politics and about being re-elected.”

The Lighthouse has become something of a sore subject at Hempstead Town Hall. Murray has been subjected to criticism from many angles, including the press, local politicians and Lighthouse developer Charles Wang, who blames the town for delaying the process.

Murray maintains that the town has been expeditious throughout the process. The speed of the town’s analysis of the developers’ applications has been unprecedented, she said. “From start to finish, we are done with our hearings within 20 months,” Murray said. “That is just unheard of.”