Taking the next step

The public will be heard on the Lighthouse project ... again.

The Hempstead town board is expected to schedule a zoning hearing for Sept. 22 on the proposal to renovate the aging Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale and redevelop the 150 acres that surround it.

The last public hearing on the project, which focused on a 6,500-page draft environmental report, was held Aug. 4, and attracted a crowd of more than a thousand. Some 800 people submitted comments to the town, the leading agency with zoning authority, by mail or e-mail.

Leaders of the Lighthouse Development Group are not pleased with the timing of the zoning meeting. “There is a great amount of frustration in not being able to get a zoning date sooner than now, since the town could have scheduled the zoning hearing at the same time as our [environmental] hearing,” said Michael Picker, president of the organization, which is led by co-developers Charles Wang and Scott Rechler. “The October 3 date keeps getting more challenging as the delays are put in front of us.”

Wang, who owns the New York Islanders, set Oct. 3 as the deadline for the town to give the project a clear yes or no. If he does not get an answer by that date, he has said, he will entertain offers from other cities where he could potentially move the NHL franchise.

The privately funded, $4 billion Lighthouse project includes a renovated Coliseum, a new convention center, a five-star hotel, residential units, office and retail space and a minor league baseball stadium. The plan is projected to generate 75,000 construction jobs, and 19,000 permanent jobs when it is completed.

East Meadow and Salisbury are two of the communities that border the proposed development.

In a statement released by the town on Tuesday, Supervisor Kate Murray repeated her assertion that the municipality has moved its review of the Lighthouse proposal along at an “expedited rate,” calling it “unparalleled” when compared with other reviews.

Town officials said that a zoning hearing was not scheduled earlier because reviewers were still analyzing hundreds of comments and the thousands of pages of the draft environmental report. The town must still issue a Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement.

Murray said she would recommend the scheduling of a Sept. 22 zoning hearing to the town board at its next meeting on Tuesday. The board is expected to approve the recommendation. A zoning hearing offers the public an opportunity to weigh in on the merits of the proposal, unlike the previous comment period, which focused on the environmental aspects of the project.

The zoning hearing would take place at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse on the south campus of Hofstra University, and would be divided into three sessions: 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.

If the project is granted zoning and environmental approvals by the town, the approval process would move on to the county. The Legislature would vote to approve the lease agreement for the Islanders and the Coliseum, which is set to expire in 2015. Following a final approval from the Nassau County Planning Commission, building permits would be issued and the developers would be cleared to begin construction.

Lighthouse Group leaders and supporters have expressed their optimism that the process could be completed by the Oct. 3 deadline. That mood appears to have changed, but the deadline, they say, will not. “If we don’t receive certainty by October 3, we will continue the process here on Long Island because that is our ultimate goal,” Picker said. “But we will open ourselves up if any outside interests call us related to the New York Islanders, and then we will discuss with them any potential offers.”

Murray encouraged the public to participate in the process. Those who are unable to attend the tentatively scheduled Sept. 22 hearing can submit comments by mail — to Town of Hempstead, Lighthouse Project Public Comment, One Washington Street, Hempstead, N.Y. 11550 — or by e-mail, to lighthousecomment@tohmail.org.

“Public comment is a critical component in any project, especially in one of this magnitude,” Murray said. “Just as the public comment process has helped to provide valuable information on environmental concerns, it will continue to be a major element as the town board focuses on zoning deliberations.”

Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.