By Howard Goldstein
"We're optimistic. An agreement between the Town of Hempstead, [the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Defense] and the Nassau Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless has been reached," said Raymond Rhoden, Town of Hempstead commissioner of planning and economic development.
In accordance with the federal Base Closure Act, decommissioned military bases must, in most cases, go to develop homeless housing.
Many North Bellmore residents living around the base, however, have protested homeless housing there, fearing it would send their property values plummeting. Instead, they wanted senior and single-family housing and/or a park at the former base.
"A lot of people wanted a park," said Bill Christensen, president of the North Bellmore Civic Association, "since [North] Bellmore is the only community in the area with no public park of its own."
According to Rhoden, the deal reached among all parties and accepted in Washington, D.C. will set up 74 units of housing: 40 for senior citizens and another 34 for single families. North Bellmore residents will get first priority on the senior housing. The Coalition for the Homeless will receive compensation for two years of $180,000 and $90,000, respectively.
Nassau County Legis. Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), who has monitored the base's decommissioning closely, described the agreement as "promising" and is glad to finally have definitive answers about the base's future for nearby residents.
The legislator also credited the Town of Hempstead and U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) with resolving the issue.
"We are proceeding very well," said Rhoden, "and the slowest part is the legal language. An agreement is always open to interpretations, so it is a slow process of crafting the language to satisfy all parties."
Joan Noguera, director of the Nassau Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless, said that a committee would be set up to allocate the compensation funds.
"I'm happy an agreement was reached, and we are looking to best serve Long Island's homeless with the funds," she said.
No construction date has been set, but Rhoden believes that it will begin in early 2003.
"I expect to have some of the major legal language settled by January. The project is moving along well, and Bellmore residents should expect the new housing soon," he said.
Gonsalves said that many hurdles were overcome during five-year battle over the former base's fate.
"We were not going to let this issue go. Tenacity has paid off," said Gonsalves.
Christensen said that news of a deal came as a relief to North Bellmore homeowners. "We are very glad this issue was finally resolved and that concrete steps are now being taken. The new housing will be good for the community. We're glad things finally worked out," he said.
