By Rebecca Shalomoff
Now the measure must be approved by a countywide referendum on the November ballot before it goes into effect.
We went all the way to the Federal court in our fight, Ruth said in the county executive chambers after the law-signing ceremony Thursday, Feb. 28. After that, we felt that we had to help our other residents. So, we remained involved in zoning actions.
About 40 years ago, when the owners of the former Atlantic Beach hotel wanted to increase the building by six stories in height, and three blocks in width, the Radows fought for more than a decade to prevent their quaint beach town from being disrupted.
We found that the Town [of Hempstead] was not working for the best interest of our village, she said. We felt that if we had our own zoning, we could keep it the way we wanted: low density and one-family occupancy.
By 1977, the Radows were able to secure the modest aesthetics of Atlantic Beach through court rulings, but they were disappointed when the Town of Hempstead approved condominiums to be built between Putnam and Vernon Streets.
Since then, other residents have joined the Radows in their quest for zoning powers. Atlantic Beach Mayor Stephen Mahler sued the county after former County Executive Thomas Gulotta twice vetoed Democrat-supported proposals by the County Legislature to give the village of about 2,000 residents zoning power, which now rests with Hempstead Town.
Justice Allan Winick ruled against the village on Aug. 29, 2001, siding with Gulotta, even after State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer gave his consent of the move last year in a five-page report. The village appealed and the matter is pending before the Appellate Division in Brooklyn. The previous county administration had contended that the county legislature cannot change the charter, and only the state legislature can do so.
After Suozzi signed the local law last week, Mahler said, The county is now on our side. It
