Despite worries, Nassau hub development plan moves forward

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Developers Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment Global and RXR Realty cleared a hurdle on the way to approval of their proposed $1.5 billion commercial and residential plan to convert the Nassau Hub into what they call a “new suburbia.”

On Dec. 3, the County Legislature’s Rules and Planning committees unanimously approved amending the 49-year-old lease on the property surrounding the Nassau Coliseum. If the amendment is approved by the full Legislature on Dec. 17, the developers will be granted approval to draft a site plan and lay out more details for the parcel.

The plan was presented at a Nov. 27 public hearing by partners Brett Yormark, chief executive officer of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, and Scott Rechler, chairman and chief executive officer of RXR Realty. It includes 600,000 square feet of life sciences, research and development space, 200,000 square feet of entertainment and retail, 500 units of multi-family housing, two ho-tels and open public space.

“We felt a great deal of enthusiasm in the room last week,” said Evlyn Tsimis, the deputy county executive for economic development, speaking on behalf of County Executive Laura Curran’s ad-ministration and its partnership with the developers.

Some lawmakers, however, have expressed doubts about whether the developers were prepared to continue.

Legislator Kevan Abrahams, a Democrat from Freeport and a ranking member of the Rules Committee, referred to a community-benefits agreement that the developers said they would draft to alleviate the negative impact the project could have on those living in the surrounding area, such as increased traffic and pollution. He criticized the developers, and Curran’s administration, for not offering specific information about the agreement or plans for implementing it.

“You’re going to have to come back to us on the 17th with more than just language,” Abrahams said. “Today you’re just not there.”

Legislator Siela Bynoe, a Democrat from Westbury, agreed, saying, “I would like to see a document that frames the potential activities that would be achieved for the benefit of local residents, coupled with a financial formula.”

Both also said they wanted more information about a project labor agreement that would ensure that the developers hire local union laborers. “It is essential for any project labor agreement to ensure the men and women of our labor unions have the opportunity to be employed throughout the duration of this project,” Bynoe said.

But Legislator Thomas McKevitt, a Republican from East Meadow and Vice Chairman of the Nassau County Planning Committee, said he shared Curran’s enthusiasm for the project, and did not believe that Abrahams’ and Bynoe’s reservations justified interrupting its progress.

McKevitt added that it is unrealistic to expect to see specific estimates on a community-benefits agreement at such an early stage in the development process.

“I don’t think at this point, they’re going to have those answers for us,” he said. “And I would like to see, sometime in my lifetime, that something more will happen at that space. But I can’t say I’m positive that that will occur.”

If the lease amendment is approved, the first phase of the project, which includes the construction of two state-funded parking garages with 3,400 spaces, a Northwell Health Innovation Center and half of the housing and entertainment units, is expected to begin in 18 to 24 months.

Many residents of the surrounding area said they would like to know more of the details of the development plan, Frank Camarano, president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, said. On Jan. 15, the chamber will host a community meeting at which legislators will meet with residents and answer questions about the plan. A place and time have yet to be determined.