By Andrew Coen
The debate centers around whether or not minority communities have been neglected by the town in their distribution of Community Development Block Grants.
Nassau County legislators Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) and Roger Corbin (D-Westbury) have urged their fellow Democratic elected officials on the Minority Affairs Committee of the legislature to vote against a county plan to spend $22 million in federal funds, saying the Republican-controlled Town of Hempstead board has not addressed many of the issues facing minority communities like Inwood, Lakeview, Elmont, Uniondale and Roosevelt, a charge that town leadership strongly rejects.
The legislators said that the town, which is due to receive $5.4 million in grant money, has not produced an extensive renewal plan for Nassau Road in Roosevelt after years of promises, and has ignored the concerns of other minority communities, another charge denied by the town.
The $22 million includes $18 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and $4 million in additional federal funds.
As a result of Abrahams and Corbin's arguments, majority Democrats on the Minority Affairs Committee agreed in July to table the application for the funds. A later application was rejected by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development because the county had no spending plan.
Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby (D-Hempstead) is the lone Democrat and African-American on the Town Board. She represents the largely minority communities of Uniondale, Roosevelt and Lakeview. At the press conference she said that there are plans to use the funds for the minority areas, and urged Corbin and Abrahams to communicate better with her about the status of the money. "It is outrageous that legislative inaction has endangered the receipt of over $20 million in federal funds which would help the needy and facilitate community revitalization efforts," said Goosby in a prepared statement.
According to Goosby, in the 29 years of the CDBG program in the Town of Hempstead, $93 million has been spent, with $19.5 million of those funds, or 20 percent, earmarked for Roosevelt for streetscape improvement, facade work, affordable homes and business revitalization. "I am fighting hard for my communities to receive adequate CDBG funds, and I am proud of my record in the quest to revitalize neighborhoods and help the needy," said Goosby.
The councilwoman also pointed out that three public hearings were held on the plan for the CDBG money, and that neither Abrahams nor Corbin attended the hearings, submitted written objections or complained about the 30-day public comment period. "You can't skip school all week and then complain that you are unprepared for a test on Friday," said Goosby.
"We will not fade away like shadows in the night," said Abrahams at a Sept. 7 press conference in Mineola, making it clear that he would not accept a plan that does not include sufficient money for minority areas. "We will get what we deserve."
"I agree with [the legislators] that we're not getting our fair share," said Greg Nunn, the founder of the Inwood Community Group, of the funds that Inwood and other minority areas are receiving in grants.
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has given the green light to the hiring of attorney David Bythewood of Hempstead to conduct a study to determine if Hempstead has been spending its federal money properly. Bythewood said at the press conference that he would collect data on how community block grant money has been spent in the town to see if there are any disparities, and would then gather information from people who filed applications to find out where the plans went.
The county Legislature's minority leader, Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa), said his delegation would not vote for the HUD application as long as any lawyer hired by the administration is reviewing Hempstead's spending.
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