By Jennifer La Lima
A public hearing will be held April 4 at Hempstead Town Hall. The North Bellmore Civic Association is urging community members to attend and voice their opinions at the 10:30 a.m. session. Town Hall is at 1 Washington St. in Hempstead.
In April 2005, the 17-acre Maple Avenue property was zoned as the ³North Bellmore Planned Residence District.² At the time, town officials promised that proposed zoning changes would be presented at a public hearing, with full notice to residents.
Current zoning calls for 34 single-family homes, 40 ³golden age² residential units for senior citizens and a recreational facility. Kabro Associates proposes changing the golden age units to senior housing. Ralph Serzo, Town of Hempstead Housing Authority deputy executive director, explained that senior housing is federally subsidized, while golden age housing is not. Senior housing units are priced at market value, whereas golden age housing remains at a fixed price.
Reinaldo Nunez, North Bellmore Civic Association president, said that seniors who have sold their homes but want to continue living in their hometown need affordable housing. ³Those who are living on fixed incomes will find it much more difficult to afford senior housing, rather than golden age, in their own town,² Nunez said. ³It is really important for members of our community to voice their opinions at the April 4 meeting. There is strength in numbers.²
The property¹s developer, Steve Kaplan of Kabro Associates, was unavailable for comment at press time.
Changes in the zoning provisions, as provided by town spokeswoman Susie Trenkle, include the following:
n Increasing the number of single-family detached dwellings from 34 to 35.
n Increasing the number of senior citizen (age 55 and over) semi-attached dwellings from 40 to 50.
n Altering the required parking and garage facilities for all residential dwellings from a two-car garage with a driveway to a one-car garage with a driveway.
n Removing the requirement for a community recreational facility and pool.
n Removing a provision that the senior units meet golden age restrictions, which establish income and purchase price limits.
Community members worry that the additional proposed housing units would add to traffic and the number of children in the school system. Steve Kozlowski of North Bellmore said that replacing the recreation center with housing would not benefit the community. ³That area has suffered long enough,² Kozlowski said. ³From the civic¹s perspective, we are going to be fighting for the golden age development. We will be representing the needs of the community.²
The Town of Hempstead has compiled a list of North Bellmore residents who wish to move into the proposed golden age homes. Christine Szatmary, a North Bellmore resident for 41 years, is one. ³I¹ve raised my children here, and I¹ve paid taxes here for 41 years,² Szatmary said. ³I want to stay in North Bellmore, but the taxes and household expenses can get to be too much. I signed up several years ago [to be considered for golden age housing]. I would hate to have to move out of North Bellmore.²
Christine Cook, the civic association treasurer, hopes North Bellmore residents turn out on April 4 to support seniors. Cook¹s parents, Joan and Ted Schimoler, have long looked forward to purchasing affordable golden age homes in the town where they live.
According to Cook, replacing golden age with senior housing opens buying options to non-Bellmore residents, eliminating a priority list. ³We¹ve been telling seniors for 10 years that they could have the chance to move into golden age duplexes in their own community,² Cook said. ³Golden age housing would give seniors a tax break. Kabro¹s plan doesn¹t benefit North Bellmore. I¹m [eager] to see the end result, but not at the cost of taking shortcuts. I want to see this done right.²
Comments about this story? JLalima@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 284.
