By MIKE RUSSO
Suozzi addressed close to 75 residents at a Sept. 16 meeting of the Baldwin Oaks Civic Association, a majority of whom were opposed to the county's planned lease of the property for the development of athletic fields, and assured them that the county was not going to do anything without their approval. "Guaranteed, we're not going to do anything you don't want to do," Suozzi said. "I'd love to go and build baseball fields there ... I can't do it in the face of the community opposition, not wanting to see this stuff happen here."
The small crowd welcomed Suozzi's statement with loud applause. "I'm glad this is dead, and I'll pay for the funeral," said one resident, pointing to an artist's rendering of Molloy's proposal. "I will preach the eulogy."
Some residents, however, were upset by the decision, and said they felt that Molloy's proposal would have benefited Baldwin - and specifically its sports teams. "We don't have enough facilities in our town that are available to keep these kids busy," said Michael Liff, a vice president of Baldwin Little League. Liff said he was also upset about people in the room saying that "the community" was opposed to Molloy's proposal when he, for one, had not been informed about past meetings.
Molloy issued a press release the following day, stating that it was withdrawing its proposal - the only one offered after a county-issued request for proposals, a process that ended Sept. 15 - since it did not have the support of the county. The college is losing a field on its Rockville Centre campus due to construction of a new student center, and sought to develop half of the 33-acre Coes Neck property into three new fields, and the other half as a nature preserve for residents. Molloy Vice President Ed Thompson had expressed optimism at past meetings with residents about what he called a public/private partnership between them and the college, and he said he was disappointed with the county's decision.
"We respect the process," said Thompson. "We have always been committed to being a solid community partner. We thought that this proposal had great advantages for the broader Baldwin community as well as Molloy, and we remain committed to being a good community partner."
Molloy had proposed building a baseball field, a softball field and a soccer and lacrosse field on one half of the property, all three of which would be open to residents more than half of the time, according to Thompson. The other half of the property was to be turned into a nature preserve, with a lake and a walking trail, for the community's use. The college was prepared to invest $12 million in the remediation and development of the property.
Thompson said that the college is moving forward regardless of what happened with Coes Neck, and will construct the student center as planned. He added that it remains to be seen whether Molloy's sports program will be affected by the loss of the field.
Many area residents have long opposed the idea of having Molloy's athletic fields in their backyard, claiming that they would attract more traffic, create more noise and detract from the property's reputation as a symbol of their quiet community.
Several years ago, when it was discovered that the county was interested in leasing the property for development, the Baldwin Oaks Civic Association sent out surveys to every home in Rockville Centre, South Hempstead, Baldwin and Roosevelt to get an idea of what area residents wanted to see on the property. According to the civic association, only 9 percent of those who responded favored athletic fields.
The association has met with the county on numerous occasions to convey its opposition, including an angry verbal exchange between residents and the county planning board after the board voted to release an RFP despite the request of the county's Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee that such a request not be issued. Those residents argued that the property, which is partially contaminated from illegal dumping nearly 30 years ago, should simply be cleaned up and maintained as a perpetual preserve.
Suozzi suggested that residents get together and develop a proposal of their own while the county tries to develop a budget to see if it can afford to offer some help in cutting trees and replacing the perimeter fence. He said that information would be made available to the civic association at its next meeting, on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the South Hempstead Firehouse, 555 May St. At the same time, however, Suozzi said that it was unlikely that the county would be able to do all the work.
"The county is in no position financially to go out and do it ourselves," Suozzi said, mentioning his proposal just a day earlier to raise property taxes by 3.9 percent. "The only way to do it is to have an outside party come and develop the property."
Residents who would like to have a say in the property's future are urged to attend the civic association's October meeting. According to the association's Jacqueline Bell, County Legislator Kevan Abrahams is preparing legislation to ensure that the property is cleaned up and maintained as a perpetual preserve.
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
