By Dana Williams
In January, 5th Precinct police responded to 17 calls at the hotel, which dealt with a range of crimes involving drugs, prostitution and robbery, police said.
The latest figures come after residents were informed that from August to December 2007, police responded to 118 calls about drug use, assaults and domestic disputes at the hotel. What a waste of time and taxpayers- money, said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Civic Association. We are very angry and disgusted as a community at the empty promises that have been made by our elected officials.
This recent police update has moved many civic leaders to step up their criticism of the Hempstead town board for adopting the town-s Urban Renewal Plan, which is expected to delay the hotel-s closure for several years. Despite opposition from hundreds of residents, the town board voted 6-0 on Jan. 22 to pass the URP, a 10.5-acre redevelopment design for the 10.5 acres of blighted area along Hempstead Avenue, including the Courtesy.
The plan limits development to no more than 45 units per acre on the Courtesy site. It also calls for a mixture of residential and commercial property, a row of townhouses and commuter parking near the West Hempstead Long Island Rail Road station. The URP will also require the town to acquire the Courtesy and other properties through condemnation.
Most West Hempstead residents have endorsed the sale of the Courtesy to Trammell Crow Residential, a national developer that has proposed building a $66 million, 176-unit luxury apartment complex on the 2.7-acre Courtesy site. The adoption of the URP, however, blocks the sale of the Courtesy to Trammell Crow, which has been in contract to purchase the property from its owner, Bruce Zwelsky, since March 2006. Town officials said they adopted the URP because it addresses the needs of the entire blighted area, not just the Courtesy.
Zwelsky and other property owners on Hempstead Avenue have said they will fight the town in court if it tries to take their property through eminent domain proceedings.
With all of the expected litigation and other delays connected with the URP and the ongoing criminal activity at the Courtesy, many residents have written letters and sent e-mails to Town Supervisor Kate Murray to express their disappointment with the board-s decision to approve such a time-consuming plan. In one such letter, resident Carrie Licitra wrote that the town board-s decision destroyed residents- hopes and faith in Murray-s repeated promises to have the Courtesy shuttered by the end of each year. Where has the oath of office you took to represent us gone? Licitra wrote. The Trammell Crow proposition would have been the perfect solution.
West Hempstead religious leaders are also voicing their frustration with the town-s decision, with many saying that it has caused them to lose faith in their elected officials. In a letter sent to Murray, Msgr. Jim Lisante, pastor of the St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hempstead, said that the town-s explanation for adopting the URP was woefully inadequate and its decision has made thousands of residents feel simply ignored.
The town sends mailings about everything, but there has not been one cohesive mailing sent by Supervisor Murray explaining to residents about why town made this decision, Lisante said. West Hempstead has a developer making a promise to change the area for the better, and it-s just senseless for the town to have passed this Urban Renewal Plan.
Rabbi Art Vernon, leader of the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead, expressed similar sentiments, saying that it is absolutely incomprehensible that the Hempstead town board would choose to spend taxpayers- money on condemnation proceedings when a developer has already agreed to rid the community of the crime-ridden Courtesy.
Everyone knows that Trammell Crow-s high-quality complex would start the revitalization of the rest of the area on Hempstead Avenue, Vernon said. The town board has been making promises for at least a decade to handle the Courtesy problem ... and by adopting this plan, many community members just feel betrayed.
Maria Rigopoulos, vice president of development for Trammell Crow, said the firm is awaiting the town-s decision on its rezoning petition. The measure requests that Trammell Crow be permitted to build its 65-units-per-acre complex because of the Courtesy site-s proximity to the train station. We are just waiting to see what the town-s next steps are, Rigopoulos said. We are still hopeful that the town will meet us in a compromise.
Town officials have not provided information about when the vote on the firm-s petition will be placed on the town board-s decision calendar.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
