By Andrew Coen
Developer David Neuberg's publicly declared interest in developing condo units on the land if library officials succeed in securing a new facility in Zion Park.
Co-PPL presidents Joan Lepelstat and Joel Shiff sent a letter to Lawrence school board president Dr. Asher Mansdorf asking that trustees place the issuing of an RFP for the library property at their Feb. 27 meeting. Mansdorf did not respond to the request but Lepelstat read a portion of her letter at the meeting and urged the board to take up the issue in the near future.
"The Library Board respectfully requests and urges that the Board of Education issue an RFP on [the PPL property] to solicit offers from any and all interested parties," Lepelstat said.
Mansdorf told the Herald he wants the school and library boards to work together in drafting the RFP for the property and hopes to have it on the agenda in a meeting in the near future.
The letter to Mansdorf came on the heels of a recent Lawrence Association meeting where Neuberg, the developer who's been greenlighted to build 144 luxury condominium units on the former Number One School property, said he's bid on the PPL property if it became available. The condo site is adjacent to the Central Avenue library.
Neuberg purchased the 3.79 acre Number One School for $27.5 million and can finally start building his planned apartments now that the Lawrence board of trustees lifted a year and a half long moratorium that banned construction projects requiring high water usage. The former elementary school was closed by the Lawrence school board in June 2004 as part of a consolidation plan to save the district money.
Since mid-2005 library officials have been pushing to construct a new facility in Lawrence's Zion Park with the proposed 27,000-square-foot, two-story structure - twice as large as the current building. The current library covers 13,500 square feet and stands as the smallest one in the county by the Nassau County Library System.
The PPL building was erected in the early 1960s, and library officials say the simply won't accommodate expanded services. Access from Central Avenue is one narrow driveway on the east side of the building where cars both enter and exit, creating the potential for serious accidents. The facility also has limited parking space.
If the Lawrence school board accedes to the PPL's request to issue the RFP to sell the property they purchased for $1 in 1959, it would bring in extra revenue for the Lawrence Public Schools which Lepelstat hopes could cover some of their expenses for constructing a new facility in Zion Park.
State funds from the Dormitory Authority of New York would also help fund the project. The Lawrence Village Board of Trustees must move to make the Zion Park property available to the PPL and District 15 voters would have to approve a bond for construction of the new facility. The new library would cover up to five percent of Zion Park's land adjacent to the Lawrence Long Island Railroad station on the Inwood and North Lawrence borders.
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. In 1997 district 15 resident defeated a referendum to build a new library on Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst.
Comments about this story? Acoen@liherald.com or 516-569-4000 ext. 210.
