By: Chris Munzing
"No one ever brought home the bacon to the West End," said City Council President James Hennessy. He added that his administration wants to change that with a plan to beautify the neighborhood and bring more people into its business district.
The city is currently seeking nearly $2.1 million in Community Development funds from the Nassau County Urban Consortium, of which Long Beach is a member. City Manager Glen Spiritis said that the money being sought is more than twice what the city has received in the past. "Historically, the city has not received its fair share," he said.
The city will learn how much it will receive on Oct. 1.
A portion of the money would be earmarked for a West End facelift. New brick sidewalks, improved lighting and streetscape beautification were some of the ideas discussed at the listening session.
Spiritis also talked about creating a Business Improvement District in the West End. "A BID taxes storeowners for their use," Spiritis said. "We sit down and decide what to do with the money."
Spiritis said that BIDs have significantly improved the business districts he has worked in, such as Great Neck, because they get merchants involved in the community. Hennessy said that more businesses have been coming into Long Beach recently, and that an improved business district in the West End could draw some of those businesses west. He cited Coldstone Creamery and Curves Fitness as examples of new businesses in the center of town, and a new cigar store in the West End.
"We want to diversity the businesses in the West End," Hennessy said, adding that the openness of the new administration is attractive to new businesses. "Businesses feel more comfortable coming into Long Beach."
The city manager added that while the city is in the process of updating its master plan, he would not wait for it to be completed before addressing some major concerns in the West End.
The biggest concern currently facing the West End is the rehabilitation of the sewage pumping that services the area. "It could literally go at any time," Hennessy said. "We can't have people flushing their toilets and have it not go anywhere."
The pumping station is more than 100 years old, according to Hennessy, having been built when Long Beach was first developed.
Spiritis said that the city still has unspent Community Development funds from previous years, and that the rehabilitation of the pumping station is at the top of the list.
