By Andrew Coen
The $475,000 bond, which Inwood fire officials said was necessary to bring their facilities into the 21st century, gives the district, which covers 2.4 square miles, the option to buy the property, at 204 Doughty Blvd., adjacent to the fire house, at 188 Doughty Blvd.
Inwood fire commissioners have said that future expansion of the headquarters is necessary to bring the 1927 facility up to standards and to allow for proper training of firefighters. "We're tight," George Miller, one of the five commissioners, said of the facility. "We secured the property for the future, which is what we need."
A decade ago, the fire district expanded its headquarters by acquiring an 11-by-88-foot parcel on Wanser Avenue, allowing for additional parking and an area for bays in which to store its trucks. The headquarters on Doughty Boulevard measure 52 feet by 122 feet, with the adjacent property measuring 55 feet by 138 feet, according to the Nassau County assessor's office. The property, which the district plans to purchase, is zoned for one-family use, owned by a resident and valued at $353,600, according to the assessor's office.
Fire officials said the property owners have agreed to let the fire district buy the property. A $475,000 bond would include roughly $375,000 to purchase the home and $100,000 for demolition and drainage costs, according to fire officials. Miller said the plan is to demolish the existing structure and clean up the property to allow for the expansion, though he is not sure of an exact timetable.
Miller said the passage of the bond was important, since he expects the value of the property to increase in the coming years, which would make it a more expensive purchase for taxpayers. "Looking at it from a money point of view, I think we did the right thing," said Miller. "We knew it was going to pass."
According to the Town of Hempstead, the Inwood Fire District's budget is just over $1 million, with a total tax levy of just over $5.5 million.
The district's plan to expand comes one year after the nearby Hewlett Bay Fire District's Board of Fire Commissioners voted to acquire, via eminent domain, a 14,000-square-foot property next to its headquarters that currently houses a sign store. Hewlett fire officials said the expansion was needed for extra parking, storage space and room for training.
