Inwood land for sale

A vacant county-owned parcel of land — once a community park — at Bayswater Boulevard and Peppe Drive in Inwood, directly in front of the Inwood Country Club, is being considered for sale to the club. The possible sale was first announced by Michael Kelly, deputy director of Nassau County real estate, at a March 31 county Planning Commission meeting.

The options for the 1.37-acre property, which were discussed at the meeting, included the construction of a storage unit by the country club, keeping half of the property for residents or building condominiums, according to Mike Martino, spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.

Inwood resident Peter Sobol said that the land was once Nickerson Park and later Bayswater Park, until the swings and seesaws were removed. “Over the years, the swings have come down but nothing changed — kids still play there,” Sobol said. “I realize the county needs money, but it shouldn’t be off our back.”

Sobol and other residents gathered at the Five Towns Community Center on Monday to voice their objections to the park’s possible sale to the country club.

County Planning Commission member Kristen Kotak and Frank Mistero, executive leader of the Inwood-North Lawrence Republican Committee, both of whom attended the meeting, said they were told by the county that if the country club does not want to purchase the land, no one else will be able to buy it.

However, Sandy Engel, the former president of the country club and its current chief financial officer, said at the meeting that when he learned about the possible sale, he called county Real Estate Attorney Carl Schroeder. If the country club isn’t interested in purchasing the land, Schroeder said, “I’ll sell it to builders.”

Greg Smith, the country club’s general manager, said he would have no comment on the matter until more details were available.

Mistero said that if the property is sold, the revenue will go into the county’s General Reserve Fund.

Patty Vacchio, the Inwood Civic Association secretary, who lives across from the Bayswater Boulevard property, said she is tired of the Inwood community being the county’s punching bag and possibly losing out on amenities that other communities have. “I don’t have trust in the county,” Vacchio said at the meeting. “We’ve been shortchanged before with the county garage.”

Vacchio was referring to the February relocation of the county’s Department of Public Works garage from Alameda Avenue in Inwood to Bay Park in East Rockaway.

County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), who was unable to attend Monday’s meeting, “will support whatever we decide,” Mistero said.

Asked to comment, Kopel said that while the sale doesn’t upset him, he will have to consult those who live near the property. “I want to know what they think,” he said. “If it’s going to the country club and not to other kinds of development, then I think it’s a good start.”

Sobol said he just wants the county to leave the land alone. “Once the county gives it away, we’ll never get it back,” he said. “We’re not asking for North Woodmere Park, we just want an open field for our kids to play.”

Engel said he would arrange a meeting between residents and the Inwood Country Club board. Mistero said he would arrange a meeting with Kopel and other county officials at which residents could express their concerns.

As of press time, the public testimony from the March 31 meeting had been forwarded to the Nassau County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee. The committee is expected to make a formal recommendation about the sale of the property at its meeting on

April 13.

The Nassau County Planning Commission is scheduled to meet on April 14 and to formalize a recommendation to the County Legislature regarding the potential sale.