Thursday, October 1, 2026
Inwood residents are speaking out against the Town of Hempstead’s approval of Bayview Inwood LLC’s zoning change for the property at the shoutheast corner of Bayview Ave. by Cherry Street, from residence to light manufacturing, to create a storage facility for 29 dump trucks.
The town officially approved the ordinance at a public meeting, on Oct. 1.
According to Inwood resident Ameera Gomes, the town did not notify the residents on Bayview Avenue after it was approved. Gomes said she only just saw a sign posted up on June 1.
“The Town approved the zoning change at the October 1st , 2024 Town Board meeting,” Brian Devine, director of communications for TOH wrote in an email. “Prior to the public hearing on this topic, as well as the decision, all proper notifications were issued pursuant to the Open Meetings law. The Hempstead Town Board always takes feedback from residents into consideration before making any decision.”
A trucking company, Five Star Cargo, occupies 500 Bayview Avenue.
As of press time, representatives from Five Star Cargo could not disclose any information about the zoning change.
“We witnessed the removal of trees on May 31, which was the first visible sign to many of us that this project had been approved,” Gomes said. “Despite long standing complaints and calls for transparency, this rezoning and development proceeded with little to no proper public notice or visible signage for hearings, leaving many residents unaware until after construction began. This expansion threatens to further degrade the quality of life and environment in an area that was once primarily residential and peaceful.”
Neighbors say they are concerned about their health and safety during the construction process.
“We are Inwood residents who live just steps from Inwood Park and close to the warehouse at 500 Bayview Avenue, whose operations have created an ongoing threat to our neighborhood’s health, safety, and quality of life,” Gomes said. “We respectfully urge the Town to take clear and lawful action to address the growing incompatibility between heavy industrial uses and this residential community.”
Bayview Avenue is slowly being taken over by commercial and industrial businesses, residents say. To complicate matters, the roadway is narrow.
“We feel that what is happening in our area is no longer sustainable,” Gomes said. “Large trucks now dominate residential streets like Bayview and Nassau avenues. They damage sidewalks, speed down our street, obstruct intersections, and create serious hazards for pedestrians, particularly children walking to parks and schools, our elderly neighbors, and our neighbors who do not use vehicles certain days of the week for religious reasons.”
Brandon R., who also resides on Bayview Avenue, raised concerns about the environmental consequences of these developments. He declined to provide his last name.
“Trucks are already being parked directly on grassy, unpaved areas, not asphalt which raises immediate red flags,” Brandon wrote in an email. “These vehicles may leak oil, diesel, antifreeze, and other hazardous contaminants into the soil. In a low-lying, flood-prone area like ours, these pollutants can easily be carried into the local water table, storm drains, or even into nearby homes during heavy rains or storm surges posing a serious risk to public health and the environment.”
Neighbors also say that would make the area tidal flooding worse, because the construction would add a dry well. This would make flooding more frequent, and on higher ground.
“Under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, the town is required to assess potential environmental impacts before approving projects like this, especially when they involve land disturbance or flood zone development,” Brandon stated. “The lack of proper review in such a vulnerable area is unacceptable and calls for immediate reevaluation of this project with full transparency and input from local residents.”
Inwood resident Elisa Bachrow Hinken, said the site is not only in a flood zone, but a tidal flooding zone, subject to moon phases and storms without the bay overflowing.
“The fence on the subject property is severely damaged as well as the sidewalk and curb cracked because the tractor-trailers have insufficient back-up space,” Hinken said. “This is a street that is also used by children going back and forth to Inwood Park. It is a violation just to park vehicles on grass like that.”
She also believes that it was unfair that the residents and interested parties were not notified of the town’s decision.
“We invite each member of the Council to walk these streets and see what we live with every day,” Gomes added. “Inwood residents are calling not just for enforcement, but for vision. Let’s seize this moment to clean up our neighborhood, slow down runaway industrial growth, and build something better for the families who call this place home.”
Have an opinion on the zoning change and the truck volume on Bayview Avenue? Send letter to mberman@liherald.com.
