Five Towns Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:
I read your story (Feb. 16-21) about the Woodmere Club, “Losing a member of the extended family.”

The article is sympathetic to the club members, who might no longer have their Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed golf course, 350-person ballroom, elevated swimming pool and six tennis courts.

The article omits the potential devastation that could ensue from the sale of the grounds to a developer who could build at least 150 homes on the property, between Broadway and the Brosmere Bay.

This portion of the Five Towns does not have the infrastructure to absorb that many new homes. Broadway is already an overburdened thoroughfare in need of repair that cannot accommodate existing traffic, much less serve as an evacuation route. The sewer system and water reclamation facilities, we are told, are stretched to their capacity.

Our wonderful police department does its best with the manpower it has, racing from one incident to the next. Each week the local newspaper reports on thefts of property from vehicles and arrests for driving while intoxicated. Adding another 150 homes to the area to be patrolled by our overburdened police could make the Five Towns an inviting target for criminals and allow increased mayhem by drunken drivers.

The two school districts could find themselves without sufficient classrooms to accommodate a sudden influx of students, because previously underutilized school buildings were sold or repurposed. Building another school building could cost millions.

We can also question the wisdom of placing these many homes in an area devastated by flooding after Hurricane Sandy. Taxes could rise to pay for the substantial, but neccessary increase in services. Overdevelopment could reduce property values, despite an increased tax base.

While our politicians have no difficulty devoting time to projects such as installing new parking meters in the Village of Cedarhurst, very few take an interest in protecting homeowners on the South Shore. Hempstead Town

Councilman Bruce Blakeman and County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) are the exceptions to this neglect, and have met with concerned homeowners, and have been sympathetic to our situation.

Politicians who do not stand up for their constituents, and only show up at election time, will be called to task.

Ed Grushko
Cedarhurst