Crime at Courtesy continues

A West Hempstead man was arrested on Nov. 24 after trying to rob a man with an imitation gun at the Courtesy Hotel on Hempstead Avenue, police said.

According to 5th Precinct detectives, Dale Wright, 48, of Cathedral Avenue approached a 29-year-old man in one of the hotel’s hallways, brandishing a silver handgun and demanding money. A fight between Wright and the victim ensued, police said, and Wright dropped the gun and fled, using an emergency door in the hallway.

The victim, who alerted a hotel clerk to call the police, followed Wright to the front of the building, and the two men fought again, though Wright managed to get away by jumping over a fence.

Police apprehended Wright while he was running between Woodfield Road and Cedar Street in West Hempstead, a few blocks from the hamlet’s business district, at around 9:15 p.m. The handgun, police said, was recovered on the floor of the hallway in the Courtesy, and later determined to be a fake weapon.

Wright was charged with second degree attempted robbery, and arraigned at the First District Court in Hempstead on Nov. 25.

The Courtesy has become a haven for criminal activity, and residents say they are counting down the days until the hotel is closed and demolished.

Real estate firm Trammell Crow Residential is slated to construct a 150-unit luxury apartment complex on the 2.7-acre property early next year. The building, to be called the Alexan at West Hempstead Station, will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $1,900 to $2,700.

The complex will feature an underground parking garage, a clubhouse lounge, a cyber cafe, a fitness center and pool, among other amenities.

“Probably everyone living in West Hempstead or [who] owns a business [here] is anxiously awaiting the closing of the Courtesy, and all of us look to the day when Trammell Crow Residential will begin construction of the apartment complex,” said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support Association. “ ... The recent incident which occurred at the Courtesy is not unusual, and something which all of us have come to dread. But we can’t lose sight of what the future holds, and that is what helps us cope.”

Because the Courtesy property is adjacent to the West Hempstead Long Island Rail Road station, the complex is expected to attract young professionals and jump-start the revitalization of the hamlet’s downtown area. The Alexan has been designed to help create a more pedestrian-friendly area along Hempstead Avenue.

The Trammell Crow project, approved by the Town of Hempstead in November of 2008, includes the transfer of an acre of property next to the Courtesy, owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to the town.

“The town is not involved with the Courtesy Hotel’s sale at this point because it’s between Trammell Crow Residential and the Courtesy’s owner,” said Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky, a town spokeswoman. “The town is looking forward to seeing the Courtesy Hotel close its doors.”

Representatives of Trammell Crow said they are in the process of obtaining financing and required permits for the complex, which has been endorsed by residents as well as community organizations. The developer has been in contract to purchase the Courtesy from its owner, Bruce Zwelsky, since March 2006.

“We are diligently working through building design plans and are in the preliminary underwriting stage for financing,” explained Maria Rigopoulos, a vice president at Trammell Crow. “We are working towards an early 2010 start.”

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