Locals react to Island Park plan

Local business and community leaders reacted positively to a plan announced last week to redevelop a site on Austin Boulevard that previously housed a Ruby Tuesday restaurant and the Long Beach Motor Inn — the latter notorious in the community for hosting sex offenders, the homeless and career criminals.

Both the restaurant and the motel have been closed for more than a year, having been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

At a press conference on Nov. 4, County Executive Ed Mangano, joined by County Legislator Denise Ford, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Senior Town Councilman Anthony Santino, announced plans for the redevelopment of Island Park, including the former restaurant and the motel. Mangano said that for too long, the abandoned properties have stood in the way of the village’s revitalization efforts. While no specific plans have yet been developed for the site, Mangano said that he envisions replacing the two buildings with senior housing.

Glenn Ingoglia, the president of the Island Park Chamber of Commerce, said he favors that idea. “I think that would be a great site for senior citizen housing,” he said. “That would have a positive impact on the community, and I would be in favor of anything that contributes to the Island Park community. As long as the plan does not include sex offenders living there, I’m in favor of it.”

Ingoglia said that the community does have one concern regarding housing for more senior citizens in Island Park, and that is the lack of emergency medical care. “With Long Beach Medical Center closed and South Nassau Communities Hospital swamped, putting more people with medical needs in the community is problematical,” he said. “I have been told by some of my members that something needs to be done to bring back LBMC, and I agree.”

Nonetheless, Ingoglia said he would not oppose the plan simply because of that potential problem.

Patti Ambrosia, the head of a committee that is working on the reconfiguration of Austin Boulevard, said she, too, would like to see senior housing on the site, but she has another idea that she calls her first priority. “I would really like to see a family recreation center built on that site,” she said. “That’s my first priority, because there is really nothing for Island Park kids to do, nowhere to go for recreation. If I can’t get that, then senior housing would be my next priority. There is such a long wait for local seniors to get housing — sometimes it takes years.”

“As we continue to rebuild from the damage of Hurricane Sandy, my administration is committed to revitalizing the Island Park community, in partnership with local civic organizations and the Town of Hempstead,” Mangano said. “The Long Beach Motor Inn and surrounding property have long stood in the way of community redevelopment, and will be replaced so that we can truly make Island Park a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

Mangano has directed the county attorney to proceed with plans to obtain the property and to negotiate an inter-municipal agreement with the Town of Hempstead for redevelopment at the site. “The redevelopment of the Long Beach Motor Inn is an issue I have been working on with the residents of Island Park for many years,” he said in a press release. “I would like to see this location developed in the best interests of the neighborhood and businesses of Island Park and Oceanside.”

“I’m thrilled that County Executive Ed Mangano has taken the leadership role in removing the blighted Long Beach [Motor Inn] from the Barnum Isle community,” said Santino. “I look forward to working with him and all of my colleagues in government as we transform this area, the gateway to Barnum Isle, from an eyesore into a development that makes a significant contribution, both economically and aesthetically, to our community.”