By:Esther McKenna
After years of fierce opposition, the assisted living facility for seniors currently under construction on Maple Avenue at Long Beach Road is now enjoying a somewhat warmer reception. The project, which will be called Maple Pointe and took almost two years to secure approval, is now being touted as an "improvement to the area" and an "asset to the community" by some former opponents, while others remain wary and take a wait-and-see attitude.
Initial plans for the facility, first submitted to the village in the fall of 1997, were met with strong reservations, most of which focused on the lack of parking and the height of the proposed structure. After dozens of public hearings and heated debates between residents, officials and lawyers, the project was finally given a green light by the village in September 1999.
Major concern was voiced by members of the East Side Civic Association, Maple Avenue Task Force and Rockville Centre zoning board regarding the availability of parking and increased traffic. Developer Hassett-Belfer was forced to submit a modified version of the facility - reducing the height of the building from 6 stories to 5, reducing the amount of units from 100 to 89, and increasing parking spaces - appeasing most objections. Additionally, studies conducted independently by the village and Hassett-Belfer concluded that the facility would not generate additional traffic and parking problems for the immediate area.
The original application was also complicated by the omission of any direct reference to such a facility in the RVC Zoning Code, which has since been revised.
"We were in the process of revising the zoning codes and we realized that there was a need for [assisted living for seniors] in the community," said Village Attorney Martha Krisel. The new facility, she said, would fill that need. "We've heard from seniors who want to return to the community or who sold their homes and wished to remain in the village but there just wasn't anything sufficient for them to move into."
Zoning board chairman Jeff Greenfield said he was "delighted" that work had commenced on the project and was "sure that when it is completed it will be an asset to the community."
Maple Avenue Task Force President Joe Kelly said the new facility would be "an improvement" to the site but voiced concern over the parking and traffic in general on Maple Avenue. "Absolutely, the facility will look better than what was there originally," he said, although he still felt the building was too high at 55 feet.
Some residents like Jackie Stetson, president of the East Side Civic Association, are still expressing unease about the new facility. "It's just going to take living with it to realize that we were right," she said.
Village Trustee Mary Bossart said she has heard similar concerns from Maple and Brower avenue residents. She hopes that the senior housing laws will help ensure that Maple Pointe will not be a burden to the neighborhood. "We'll all have to wait and see whether it works."
Andrew Belfer, whose partner died shortly after gaining village approval, remains optimistic. "We had to make a lot of revisions," he said. "But even I have to admit that those changes made the final project a better one."
Maple Pointe will offer residents transportation, three meals a day - that can be eaten in several dining areas including an out-door, gardened terrace - and park-like grounds.
Maple Pointe is scheduled for completion in May 2002. A marketing office opened on Monday, July 23, at 44 College Place, directly across from Village Hall, next to Bradley and Associates, Architects.
