By Debbie Rosen
O'side renovations downscaled for lack of county funding
No brick borders, trees or newly paved sidewalks will accompany the block-long facade project planned for springtime on the east side of Long Beach Road from Belleview Avenue to Davison Avenue in Oceanside. This comes as a disappointment to Oceanside Chamber of Commerce members, who believe they were promised funds by Nassau County.
The facade project is part of a Town of Hempstead program that, through grant monies, pays for half the cost of redoing the fronts of businesses on specific blocks. The other half of the funding comes from business-owners. In the past, these efforts have been supplemented by county Operation Downtown funds that pay for brick borders, lights, trees and other project extras.
A first phase of the joint project between the county and town was completed on one block of Long Beach Road, from Atlantic to Belleview avenues. And chamber members believe they were told that the county would join in a second phase as well.
However, a spokesperson from the county ended such thoughts last week when she said that all $80,000 allotted to Oceanside had been spent on the first block.
"They were supposed to do the whole area," said Steve Kass, chamber president. "It's hard for towns such as Oceanside, because we're not an incorporated village and can't budget funding for this. We have to rely on others to help us."
Thomas Gulotta, the county executive, began Operation Downtown in the fall of 1998 to help local businesses struggling to compete with malls. Monies were to be set aside each fiscal year to renovate and, in turn, rejuvenate neighborhood shopping districts.
Without a village administration to do the filing, the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce filled out an application and thought it would get funds to redo a three-block section of Long Beach Road.
However, three years later, the lights on the one renovated block still don't work and a second phase has yet to be authorized.
Part of the problem, according to a county spokesperson, is the retirement of several key players in county government affairs. Both Don Campbell and his assistant, Mike Stefano, have left the department of intergovernmental affairs.
Supervisor Richard Guardino said the town is still waiting to hear from the county regarding the Oceanside area. "It's a county road and we hope they'll be able to do it," he said. "If not, we'd take a look at it."
Work to be done on the town's piece of the second phase of the Oceanside project will be handled by A&R Developers of Westbury, which bid $279,000.
