By Esther Davis McKenna
The town proposes a 50/50 split of expenses with building owners for façade improvements. All fees for architectural work, bonding and building permits would be paid for by the town. The money offered by the town would be apportioned from state funds, according to Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino.
One obstacle to be overcome before the project's commencement entails contacting the landlords of the Grand Avenue buildings. Welquis Lopez, commissioner of the town Planning Department, appealed to members of the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce at a recent meeting to "reach out" to their landlords. Lopez said that several attempts have been made by the town to contact landowners but, in most cases, "they fell on deaf ears."
"In order for this project to be successful, we must have participation of four or five of the targeted stores," said Lopez.
Mark DiNome is a business and land owner in Baldwin, although his company is not eligible to participate in the renovation project. DiNome, who is also a resident, is frustrated by the town's inability to contact absentee landlords. "It doesn't make any sense that [the town] can't come up with an innovative way to reach [landlords]," he said. "If a homicide was committed in their building, I'm sure they'd be able to contact them. They should use these same tools of authority to get landowners' attention [for the improvement project]. It defies logic that the owners wouldn't want to jump at this chance to improve their assets."
Once landlords were identified and contacted, a project manager would offer them a laundry list of items to chose from, including prices for new windows, signage, awnings and facades. "The building owners can chose whatever works best for them," said Lopez. "We have no plan to dictate what they chose. [Landlords] can pick what best suit their individual budgets."
Architects would then make renderings of the buildings with improvements included, and the job would be sent out to bid. The lowest bidder would be awarded the job.
Business owners who are not building owners in the commercial district have mixed feelings about the project. One chamber member who declined to be named thought the project was a waste of time. "If a landlord makes changes, he will have to raise rents," she said. "That will make it harder for him to rent out the business."
Most members, however, were in favor of the renovations, saying they were a long time coming. Chamber President Doris Duffy agrees that the area needs revitalization, calling it "the worst-looking area in Baldwin's commercial district."
Nassau County Legislator Joseph Scannell applauded Santino's effort to bring capital funding to Baldwin, and agreed with Duffy. "This is one of the last commercial areas that need revitalization," Scannell said.
A study conducted by the chamber in 2000 concluded that the quality of the population of Baldwin was not represented by its commercial district. "People get the wrong perception of Baldwin from the look of that particular area," said Duffy. "It's like going to a job interview wearing dirty clothes."
This isn't the first time a plan has been submitted for the downtown area. A presentation was made by former County Executive Thomas Gulotta's administration to relocate the First Precinct police station to the areas in the 1990s. A considerable amount of money and effort was spent on relocation plans before it became clear that the county's financial woes would make it impossible to complete them. While the county's plans were on the back burner, the same buildings now under consideration for revitalization were tagged for condemnation.
"It didn't become clear until last year that the county's plan was dead and buried," said Santino. "Once the relocation of the police precinct was no longer an issue, [town supervisor] Kate Murray and I instructed the planning department to create a beautification proposal for the west side of Grand Avenue."
As for non-responsive, hard-to-reach landlords, Santino said officials are making headway. "We are working our way through the problem," he said. "Once you have one or two landlords signed up, others will be more willing to jump on board."
Lopez estimated that the renovation project would take approximately six months to be completed.
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
