Smart Growth talks return

As West Hempstead residents wait for real-estate firm Trammell Crow Residential's Alexan at West Hempstead Station apartment complex to replace the crime-ridden Courtesy Hotel on Hempstead Avenue, local elected officials and leaders continue to recognize the project as one that will help Long Island re-invent itself.

During the Vision of Long Island's 2009 Smart Growth Summit on Nov. 20, many speakers mentioned the Trammell Crow complex, which is expected to begin construction in early 2010 after the Courtesy is demolished, as an example of Smart Growth because it is a transit-oriented development that incorporates high density to help revitalize a community.

Hundreds of people attended the summit to discuss, among other things, different ways to help the Island expand and attract younger residents without losing its suburban character. This year's event, which was held at the Marriott in Melville and co-sponsored by the Herald Community Newspapers, marked the eighth year that the organization has hosted the summit.

Vision Long Island is a not-for-profit organization that aims to help “plan, design and serve as an advocate for” Smart Growth projects, according to its Web site. Representatives of the organization said that the summit allows elected officials and other stakeholders on the Island to discuss ways to keep Smart Growth a priority while pushing politics aside.

Gov. David Paterson, who was the keynote speaker at the summit, said that Smart Growth will be the long-term investment that the Island needs to help survive the current economic downturn.

"Downtown areas are the most important areas we can build up right now," he said. "We're going to have to fight for mixed-use development ... and really work to make our suburban communities more pedestrian friendly."