by Anthony Rifilato
Suozzi toured the area, first by helicopter, then by bus with community leaders, residents and local business people, and capped the tour with a town hall meeting at Baldwin Senior High School, where he heard from residents and discussed his economic plan for Baldwin and Nassau County.
Overall, Suozzi's plan divides the county into 35 economic-development areas, and features seven points: promotion of high-technology and high-skill businesses; revitalization of downtowns; construction of affordable housing for the work force and senior citizens; redevelopment of brownfields or hazardous-waste sites; preservation of open spaces; promotion of sports, entertainment and tourism; and improvement of public transportation.
The plan is vital, Suozzi said, because the county's population has remained about the same since 1990, with 1.2 million residents, while expansion of its business base has stagnated due to a lack of open space to develop commercially. As a result, growth of the county's tax revenue has slowed significantly while its expenses continue to rise. The challenge, Suozzi said, is to figure out how to grow while preserving quality of life and reducing traffic. "If we don't grow, it's a problem for the county," he said.
Keeping a promise not to raise property taxes, Suozzi emphasized that in order for the county to expand the tax base, it must create revenue and create jobs by attracting more high-technology, banking, health-care and entertainment industries, enabling Nassau to enhance its quality of life.
sub: Fitting Baldwin into the plan
The two main themes that emerged during the bus tour and town hall meeting from residents was Baldwin's look and image, and where its downtown is actually located. Several residents also complained that their area of town was neglected compared with other areas.
Suozzi drew heat from some residents who opposed lumping Baldwin and South Hempstead into one economic-improvement district while putting Baldwin Harbor and Oceanside in another. But he reassured people that the improvement-district maps were preliminary and could easily be changed.
"Baldwin Harbor will be included with Baldwin," Suozzi said at the town hall meeting.
In Baldwin, he noted, because there is a lack of space to develop commercially, revitalizing the downtown is probably the main way to bolster the town economically. Suozzi proposed creating business-improvement districts and affordable housing for the work force and seniors in commercial areas, and said the community must "create a vision" for downtown.
"It's Baldwin's downtown versus Sunrise Highway, Rockville Centre and Roosevelt Field," Suozzi said. "Grand Avenue should be doing better. I think a lot of it is image."
During his bus tour, Suozzi walked briefly through the parking lot behind West Grand Avenue, which people complained about again and again for its litter, crime, alleged illegal housing and uncooperative landlords. He then strolled on to Grand Avenue, where he viewed the neglected storefronts and several empty buildings from across the street.
"Grand Avenue and its commercial byways do not reflect the character of the community," Suozzi said later. "Baldwin is in great shape. The problem is that when you go up Grand Avenue it doesn't reflect the fact that your homes are going for $500,000 to $600,000."
Throughout the day and at the town meeting, he repeatedly criticized the Town of Hempstead for a lack of code enforcement in Baldwin. He said he would work with the Town of Hempstead to step up code enforcement to address illegal dumping, housing and other infractions. "It's a big problem in this area," Suozzi said.
But he also noted positive projects under way in Baldwin as he strolled along East Grand Avenue, such as the expansion of the Public Library and the Fire Department headquarters, saying that the area plays an important role in the community. "This is really like a big public space," Suozzi said.
He said he would work to arrange a meeting of the property owners of West Grand Avenue, the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and himself in order to find ways to improve the area, such as grants for faade improvements and other incentives. "There's got to be a way to make it look nicer," he said. "But [property owners] have to do their fair share."
Suozzi also said that although a plan to move the First Precinct to West Grand Avenue was scrapped, it didn't mean that police cannot have a stronger presence in the area. He floated the idea of putting a police booth on the street, although he emphasized that Grand Avenue's problems won't be solved solely through increased policing. "You can't be there 24 hours, seven days a week," he said.
Though some residents differed over what constituted Baldwin's downtown, with some arguing that it is near Pathmark and the Baldwin Shopping Center, others saying it is Grand Avenue between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road, and still others saying they are ignored in Baldwin Harbor, Suozzi said, "People have to agree on what you want to see happen. Agree on a vision and then we'll pour our resources in and try to make that vision happen."
Attempts to revitalize Baldwin by the Chamber of Commerce and others have been under way for some time. In 2000, the chamber hired an economic development planner to create a downtown improvement plan, and it recently hired a company that is trying to attract high-end franchises and retail businesses.
"The Baldwin Chamber of Commerce has done a lot of work," Suozzi said. "We're going to work with them."
He also lauded Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) for his work on refurbishing parts of Grand Avenue and Baldwin's ponds. Suozzi said an agreement was reached with the owners of the Coral House, who had asked that Milburn Pond be dredged after the busy summer months, that they maintain the pond's grounds, and said he hoped more businesses would participate in adopt-a-park programs.
Explaining that affordable housing is a problem in Nassau County, Suozzi also proposed transforming apartments above storefronts in Baldwin into senior or work-force housing into order to attract people to the area.
While he heard from many residents with issues ranging from speeding and illegal housing to kids hanging out on the street, the overall concern seemed to be Baldwin's look and its ability to attract businesses. "We can't even get a Starbucks here," said one woman.
"What can the county do to interest me to stay here?" asked another resident and local business owner.
But while all agreed that Baldwin's commercial appearance needed improvement, some residents worried that when it came to economic redevelopment, parts of Baldwin would be neglected. "It's like we don't exist," said one woman who pressed for revitalization on North Grand Avenue, although the area in front of the Fairview Shopping Center and Terranova Florist is scheduled to be refurbished soon.
Baldwin Harbor resident Sandy Camenzuli said, "I feel like Baldwin Harbor is a stepchild to Baldwin."
Suozzi had asked people where they thought Baldwin's downtown was located on Grand Avenue, and resident Rene Marmer replied, "I don't think anywhere on Grand Avenue is a downtown. It's just one big strip."
Another resident asked Suozzi what Baldwin could learn from thriving towns such as Lynbrook and Rockville Centre, which she said seem to have no trouble attracting retail businesses. Unlike Baldwin, those towns are incorporated, with their own mayors and unique vision, Suozzi said, as opposed to the enormity of the Town of Hempstead.
"You need to pick some vehicle in your community and say 'We want this done,'" Suozzi said. "Code enforcement is a good place to start."
Ideas for improvements
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi took a bus tour Baldwin and South Hempstead to see what areas need improvements and suggest some steps to bolster business and quality-of life-issues. Among them, he noted the following:
-Create a vision for downtown Baldwin
-Create business improvement districts
-Step up code enforcement
-Meet with West Grand Avenue and other property owners in order to address problems
-Offer incentives for sign replacement and other facade improvements
-Encourage specific kinds of development, such as anchor tenants and workforce and senior housing
