By Dana Williams
“This complex is going to start off the West Hempstead renaissance,” said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Civic Association. “This project is going to be great for our community.”
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray announced during a press conference next to the controversial Courtesy last Thursday morning that the town and real-estate firm Trammell Crow Residential had reached an agreement to demolish and replace the Courtesy “with attractive, train commuter-friendly rental apartments.” The complex will be called the Alexan at West Hempstead Station.
Residents were told by town officials in July that the town was negotiating with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to acquire its .97-acre parcel of land next to the Courtesy so that the Trammell Crow complex could be approved. Murray explained at the conference that the Long Island Rail Road helped to broker the deal between the town and the developer by agreeing to transfer the parcel to the town, which will allow Trammell Crow’s complex to be in compliance with the town’s density limit.
“I invite neighbors down to the November 18 Hempstead town board meeting,” Murray said. “At the meeting, I will propose a fast-tracked public hearing on November 25 to rezone the Courtesy Hotel and pave the way for home development.”
The town needs to create a new zoning classification for the Trammell Crow development, and Murray said she would ask the town board to do so at the Nov. 25 meeting.
For more than a decade, residents have lobbied to have the problematic Courtesy closed. The hotel has been the site of a host of criminal activities, including prostitution, drugs and robbery, and has been home to several registered sex offenders. Fifth precinct police announced in August that officers had responded to 119 calls and made 28 arrests at the hotel since January. In 2007, there were 77 arrests at the Courtesy.
The latest development comes just weeks after police reported that officers had arrested three men staying at the Courtesy for forcing a 14-year-old girl into prostitution in the hotel.
“The Courtesy Hotel is going to pack its bags, and West Hempstead residents can finally say goodbye to their unwelcome neighbor,” Murray said, “and hello to a bright and promising future.”
For more than two years, residents have urged the town to approve the sale of the Courtesy to Trammell Crow. The developer has been in contract to purchase the hotel from its owner, Bruce Zwelsky, since March 2006.
Trammell Crow originally proposed the construction of a 220-unit complex on the 2.7-acre Courtesy site. Town officials, however, said the proposal was “too dense” and would set a “regrettable precedent in the township.”
Representatives of Trammell Crow announced in December that they had scaled back their proposal to 176 units, or 65 units per acre. But the town blocked the sale by adopting an Urban Renewal Plan — a design to redevelop 10.5 acres of blighted land on Hempstead Avenue, including the Courtesy property — the following month. The URP garnered very little support because it was expected to delay the Courtesy’s closure for several years, requiring the town to acquire the properties through condemnation.
Residents held two Mother’s Day rallies next to the Courtesy to protest its ongoing association with sex offenders and to urge the town to negotiate a density total with Trammell Crow. “It has been a long, hard fight for West Hempstead, and with every setback, every delay, every heartbreak, our community stood firm and forged ahead,” said resident Seth Bykofsky. “And we’re still standing, ready to move our town forward.”
Hundreds of residents attended dozens of town meetings last year in the hope of persuading town officials that the Trammell Crow complex was the fastest way to rid the community of the Courtesy, and would be the catalyst West Hempstead needed to begin a process of revitalization. The developer maintains that the complex will attract young professionals who will use the nearby West Hempstead LIRR train station to commute to Manhattan. The four-story complex will have two levels of underground parking and a host of amenities. The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, company representatives said, would rent for $1,900, $2,400 and $2,700 per month.
To meet the town’s density requirement, Trammell Crow decreased the number of units in the proposed complex from 176 to 150.
“This [complex] is smart planning and responsible development,” said Maria Rigopoulos, vice president of Trammell Crow. “It concentrates growth in an area that is already well-served by mass transit and infrastructure. It will provide much-needed new rental housing that is designed to meet the needs and desires of today’s renters.”
LIRR President Helena Williams said that the LIRR property transfer needs to be presented to the MTA board for approval. The deal will be voted on in December or January, officials said.
“A lot of work has gone into getting this apartment complex built in our community,” said Scott Jablow, president of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association. “We’re very happy that an agreement has been made ... and that the Trammell Crow project is moving forward.”
Calls about the status of the Urban Renewal Project were not returned.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
