By Marley Seaman
Three months ago, the firm Swiss Ranch Estates, Ltd. presented a plan for a two-story, 50-unit residence that would housed about 100 people. The units would have been placed in a wooded area south of Eagle Avenue and east of Woodfield/Derrick Adkins Road. In June, the town board was asked to change the zoning of that property from residence and business to golden age. The board unanimously refused to do that.
Safety concerns appeared to be the greatest stumbling block. Residents and council members agreed that speeding cars coming from the Southern State Parkway would put senior citizen drivers at particular risk.
³It¹s a relief,² Carolyn Strauch said of the decision. Strauch lives on Oriole Avenue. ³Between the traffic and the amount of thoroughfare that¹s on here, I think it would be a minor disaster. I¹m glad that the councilmen and women listened, and were able to decide accordingly.²
At the June meeting, Goosby had sharp questions for Swiss Ranch Estates representatives. Residents applauded her comments on several occasions.
³The speed of those cars is not within the limit,² Goosby said at that meeting, adding that the road is already busy and often clogged by traffic. ³It¹s an accident waiting to happen.²
Lakeview residents also said that the facility¹s planned exit on Oriole Avenue would bring unwanted traffic into a residential area. Other residents were upset at the thought of destroying what they described as the natural beauty of the area.
Albert D¹Agostino, a Valley Stream-based attorney who presented the Swiss Ranch Estates proposal in June, said that his clients would take time to decide if they would try to modify the idea or simply scrap it.
³I really think at this point, they have to reflect on what they want to do,² D¹Agostino said.
Three years ago, a proposed senior housing development in Lakeview met with a similarly negative response from the community. The Engel-Berman development group put forth a plan for 289 units of housing for seniors on Orlando Avenue, a site formerly occupied by Richner Communications Inc., which publishes Herald and PrimeTime Guide. That idea was withdrawn in the face of public opposition, and the site will instead be occupied by a single-family housing development called The Meadows at West Hempstead.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
