By Andrew Coen
but if the neighboring Peninsula Public Library (PPL) gets its wish of building a new facility in Lawrence's Zion Park the developer would be eager to build more apartments next door to the Central Avenue site.
In a presentation on his development plans for the Number One School property at a Lawrence Association meeting last week, Neuberg revealed that if the PPL tract is up for sale he would try to buy it. When PPL co-president Joan Lepelstat asked Neuberg if he would have any interest in buying the current PPL property, Neuberg didn't hesitate in his response: "If [the PPL is] put for sale I would put in a bid for it."
Library officials reacted ecstatically to Neuberg's interest in developing the current PPL property since it could help in their long term goal of constructing a brand new state of the art facility. If the Lawrence school board - which owns the PPL property - agreed to sell the facility to Neuberg, it would bring in extra money for the Lawrence Public Schools. Library officials hope district officials would then support using some of the funds for a new library. "We're very excited about the possibility of working with Mr. Neuberg possibly realizing the dream of building a new improved library for the community," said Lepelstat.
The current library building, at 280 Central Ave. in Lawrence, was built in the early 1960s, with only one narrow driveway on the east side of the building where cars both enter and exit, creating the potential for serious accidents, according to library officials. The facility also has limited parking and is too small to expand certain services according to PPL officials who have been pushing to build a new facility in Lawrence's Zion Park since mid 2005. The proposed library would be a 27,000-square-foot, two-story structure - twice as large as the current facility - situated in the northwest corner of the park, which abuts the Lawrence Long Island Railroad station a few yards from the border between Inwood and North Lawrence. The current library covers 13,500 square feet and is ranked the smallest one in the county by the Nassau County Library System.
"I think that news is tremendously exciting," said Ron Goldman, president of the Community Action Committee for the PPL which he formed in 2004 in an effort to develop support in district 15 for a new facility. "Now you have someone who has expressed an interest who we know is a known commodity."
The potential sale of the PPL property to Neuberg is one of a series of ducks that library officials hope to get in a row to make a new facility viable. In addition to Lawrence village trustees providing the Zion Park locale to the PPL, the Lawrence school board, which owns the property at the current PPL facility, would have to agree to sell or lease the facility. PPL officials hope that some of the proceeds the school board would receive from selling or leasing the current building would be used to fund the move to Zion Park, along with state funds they would receive from the Dormitory Authority of New York. District 15 voters would also have to approve a bond to pave the way for construction at Zion Park. Ten years ago district 15 resident defeated a referendum to build a new library on Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst.
Lawrence school board president Dr. Asher Mansdorf could not be reached for comment.
Neuberg's $27.5 million proposal to construct 144 condominium units on the 3.79-acre site of the former Number One School was overwhelmingly approved by district 15 voters on Aug. 7. As the village of Lawrence last week lifted an 18-month moratorium on construction projects requiring high water usage, Neuberg has the green light to begin construction of the condo units shortly.
PPL officials have stressed that library relocation, which take up 5 percent of the Zion Park space would bring many positives to the village of Lawrence and neighboring communities. They say benefits would include increased security with better lighting, additional pedestrian activity and an improvement in the landscape and maintenance of the park. Library officials also point out that the village could receive more revenue from a more active parking lot. The village would also receive additional tax revenue if a commercial property took the place of the current PPL facility.
Library officials have tried for years to expand their building, but have hit roadblocks because of a State Education Department law that prohibited the Number One School from losing any playground space. When the school was closed by the school board in June, 2004 as part of a consolidation plan, library officials lobbied for expansion, but were unsuccessful due to the high value of the property.
Comments on this story? Acoen@liherald.com or 516-569-4000 ext. 210.
