By:Jeff Lipton
The county-owned parcel is a vacant triangular site on the northwest corner of Harris and Redwood avenues, bordering an undeveloped portion of the Nassau Expressway, also known as Route 878. The land measures 22,230 square feet and is zoned Residential B. County officials said three homes could be built on the land, each on a 6,000-square-foot lot, with two of the homes needing variances for minor setback requirements.
County officials said they are trying to expand home-ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households in Inwood and the surrounding communities, and to provide grants and loans to subsidize the renovation, construction and purchase of the homes. The county-s office of Real Estate, Planning and Development is requesting suitable developers to apply for qualifications and proposals, which are due March 5.
But at a recent Inwood Civic Association meeting, members said they opposed the construction project. We don-t want them to move so fast, said Roy Meserole, a civic association member. They can find better use for the property, instead of putting up housing. We have affordable housing over here, and quite a bit of it.
Jesse Mistero, a longtime community leader in Inwood, said the property should be handed over to the Number Four School for use as additional parking for teachers and parents. He called the county plan ill-conceived, saying it would add to the area-s traffic congestion and put the kindergarten and pre-K students who attend the school at risk.
This is a very dangerous thing to do there, Mistero said. School buses are loading and unloading kids there every day. This project would add to the congestion of the buses and the teachers- cars. This is just an ill-conceived idea.
In addition, he also complained that the area has enough affordable housing at 385 Bayview Ave., 255 Lawrence Ave. and at Mary-s Manor, and the Town of Hempstead placed 21 affordable homes in the community a few years ago.
We have our fair share of it, Mistero said. The Inwood community doesn-t want any more affordable housing. Why don-t they put it in communities other than Inwood?
Sean Rainey, deputy director of the Office of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs in Nassau County, said the reaction of residents comes as a shock to him. He said that about a year ago the community was receptive to the project, which he referred to as work-force housing.
I was told the community wanted this, Rainey said. I-m confused why it-s a bad thing. It would bring home ownership to the community, which is a positive thing. This way, for people who are renting, it will allow them to purchase a home.
Rainey said the county is looking at all county-owned parcels to try to convert them to the best use possible. There is a definite need for affordable housing, he said. It-s surprising the community is taking this approach.
Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) said most everyone he has spoken to is in favor of the project. People I-ve met with are excited about it, he said.
Elisa Hinken, the civic association-s corresponding secretary and a member of its planning and zoning committee, said the county never came to the community to ask for its input. It is their intention to remove all unused county-owned property from their inventory and place it on the tax rolls, regardless of the circumstances in surrounding communities, Hinken said. This blind-sided approach without community input or discussions prior to the release of the Request for Qualifications and Proposals is quite an insult.
Hinken added that Inwood has the greatest amount of affordable housing and low-income housing in the unincorporated areas of the Town of Hempstead, and there are no plans to widen Harris Avenue, a narrow street on which school buses park each afternoon. I just can-t fathom how this parcel can be developed without a negative impact on the school and surrounding area, she said. This parcel backs up to Route 878, which is heavily traveled, with over 30,000 cars per day.
The county also has plans to place work-force housing on the west side of Lawrence Avenue, 188 feet south of Mott Avenue in Inwood, on a rectangular site measuring 7,600 square feet. But residents said they are not opposing that project because the site was previously developed.
