Coalition hopes to revitalize Elmont

The Coalition for Sustainable Development was established nearly six years ago by residents of Elmont and surrounding communities. Church groups, Parent-Teacher Associations, youth groups and other organizations in the community came together with a common goal of revitalizing Elmont.

The coalition developed a revitalization plan that was accepted by the Town of Hempstead in June 2008 and is now used as a guide for incoming businesses. The group also conducted a blight study, surveying the community to see what areas residents were most concerned about, and discovered that they considered Hempstead Turnpike Elmont’s most withered area.

Since the study, the group’s primary focus has been on cleaning up the turnpike and adding benches, signs and greenery.

Sandra Smith, a leader of the organization, said that in 2006 the coalition and a group of more than 600 community residents walked along the turnpike and looked for needed fixes before developing the Elmont Community Vision Plan. The plan, Smith said, includes installing concrete and brick pavers along the road, much like those along Dutch Broadway — a project that began in 2009 with the help of County Legislator John Ciotti (R-Elmont) and is still under way. The plan also includes implementing consistent signage along the street, incorporating Elmont’s school colors, green and gold, she said.

However, Smith said, the coalition has not yet been able to put the “shovel to the ground,” due to the Town of Hempstead’s resistance.

She explained that a $2.4 million state grant was finalized in December for the Hempstead Turnpike revitalization mission, but the money went to the Town of Hempstead. And although the coalition has recently been meeting with the town about using the grant in coordination with the vision plan, it has been “difficult to get everyone on the same page,” Smith said. “The grant money that we have gotten from the state was issued to the town,” she explained. “It wasn’t directly issued to the coalition, but it was given on behalf of the coalition.”

Smith said she plans to continue working with the town in the next few months, and hopes to begin using the grant money for the Community Vision Plan in 2011.