By Jason Scheer
A 35-acre field at the end of Coes Neck Road in north Baldwin has long been an eyesore, as well as a source of frustration for those looking to clean it up.
Many who live near the field, which is owned by Nassau County, say that the county's lack of planning led to the land's sorry state. What was once a large lake in the middle of the field is now a mere puddle. The once-green field has turned brown, and the county has deemed it unsuitable for development.
But this ugly piece of real estate may at long last be getting an upgrade. At the Nov. 18 meeting of the Baldwin Oaks Civic Association, representatives of Nassau County delivered some good news.
Robert Benrubi, director of the economic revitalization unit in the county's Office of Economic Development, said the county is in the process of entering into contracts with engineering firms that will conduct a "land boring" process. This is, essentially, a process of drilling holes to various depths in the ground to determine the amount of contamination there. The tests will help determine the type of structure that could be built on the land. That process, Benrubi said, would take two to four weeks, once the contracts are issued. It would take an additional month to analyze the data.
The county's Department of Health has conducted various tests on the land to determine the contamination level, and those results have been encouraging, Benrubi said. "The last results ... [have] shown either there is no, or no significant, contamination in the groundwater," he said.
Some residents expressed skepticism about Benrubi's report and the county in general, saying that they've been promised before that the land would be cleaned up. They say there has been little in the way of results, however. "This has been going on for a long time, and we haven't got any answers to anything," one resident said.
Benrubi assured them that this time is different, and that any project will be seen through to its completion.
The Baldwin Oaks Civic Association, in conjunction with local politicians, has been mailing surveys to residents, asking them what they would like to see built on the land. The choices listed are a nature preserve, a swimming facility, ball fields, and a golf course. Respondents are asked to mark their choices in order of preference, or write in a suggestion of their own. Suggestions have ranged from "do nothing" to "expand a local cemetery" to "build a local annex to the Baldwin Public Library."
The survey was conducted to ensure that voices in the community would be heard, said Jackie Bell, president of the Civic Association. Bell explained that the land was targeted for affordable housing, but that was not what local residents wanted. "There are a number of things, as I have said many times, that we in the community don't always agree on," she said. "But that was one of the things we all agreed on, because we do not want affordable housing."
Baldwinites should contact the association with their input, Bell said. "It's not just a Baldwin Oaks problem or issue, but it impacts all of Baldwin and the surrounding areas," she said.
Benrubi agreed that the land's ultimate fate lies with Baldwin residents. "Any kind of development on Coes Neck will be guided by the community," he said. "It would be the community's plan, the community's input, the community's consent. It will be driven by what the community wants."
