By Dana Klosner-Wehner
The issue was whether the Planning Board would recommend that the town board proceed with a plan to revitalize the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Elmont Road by demolishing four buildings and replacing them with a supermarket. The area was deemed blighted by a study completed in January by a planning consultant firm, Siccardi and Schiff.
Since then there have been town meetings at which it was decided that a supermarket would work best at the corner. There is a senior citizens complex nearby, and the seniors are said to need a supermarket in their neighborhood.
Norman Gerber, a community development consultant who has worked on blight studies throughout New York state and was hired by two of the landlords who own buildings targeted for demolition, contended that the area was not blighted. “Blight means different things to different people,” Gerber said. “What are the elements of blight?”
He listed factors including dilapidation, closed or gated stores, narrow alleyways and a multiplicity of property owners, none of which this area has. “In my opinion, this area doesn’t need rehabilitation,” Gerber said. “This area needs very little. There are small areas of trash and debris that could be cleaned up. This area could use façade improvements and some sign control.
“It’s like going to a podiatrist with a bunion and he says you should cut your leg off,” Gerber continued. “The question is, given the fact that there is no evidence of blight, how do we move to the next step of taking it all down and making a supermarket?”
What the area does have, according to the landlords, is 100 percent occupancy, with 29 stores renting space in the buildings in question, employing 100 people.
Gerber went on to say that a 40,000-square-foot supermarket would not be successful at this location. “There are already a number of supermarkets serving this community,” he said.
Under the revitalization plan, the town could take these buildings by eminent domain.
About 50 people were on hand for the meeting, and 20 or so held signs that urged putting a stop to “eminent domain abuse.” The crowd burst into applause after Gerber’s remarks, and attendees were told by Planning Board Chairman Gerald Wright that they would be thrown out if there was one more outburst. Wright said that a decision would not be made based on applause.
John Siccardi of Siccardi and Schiff testified that the blight study was based on Article 15 of New York state law. “It’s not just vacancy that determines blight,” Siccardi said. “It’s a whole host of things. It [includes] the underutilization of land. This is a very strategically located site on Hempstead Turnpike. Yes, the buildings are occupied, but there were a number vacant during the blight study.”
“The commission is railroading this through at a time when unemployment rates are staggering,” said Tess Mittman, one of the landlords. “In this economy, where every shopping center has vacant stores, why would you tear down 29 thriving businesses?”
“There is no need for a supermarket,” said Michele Mckeithan, who owns a home a block from the site. “Senior citizens are able to take a bus to other stores.”
In a letter read at the hearing, Sandra Smith, co-chair of the Elmont Coalition for Sustainable Development, which was formed when Elmont began looking at revitalization and economic development, wrote, “We worked very hard to get input from residents on what they want to see at this site … People wanted a supermarket at the Argo theater site.”
After considering the testimony, the Planning Board will decide whether to recommend to the town board to move ahead with the revitalization plan.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
