By Dana Williams
While some people were buying roses, jewelry and other last-minute Mother's Day gifts at the nearby National Wholesale Liquidators on Hempstead Turnpike on Sunday, more than 170 concerned mothers gathered in the parking lot across the street from the Courtesy, urging the Town of Hempstead to approve the sale of the Courtesy property to real estate firm Trammell Crow Residential. The developer, which proposed the construction of a $66 million, 176-unit luxury complex on the 2.7-acre Courtesy site, has been in contract to purchase the property from its owner, Bruce Zwelsky, since March 2006. But the town blocked the sale when it adopted its Urban Renewal Plan, which passed by a vote of 6-0 in January.
The URP is the town's redevelopment vision for roughly 10.5 acres of land on Hempstead Avenue, including the Courtesy property. It recommends, among other things, a mixture of residential homes and businesses on both sides of the street, and that a developer build no more than 45 units per acre on the Courtesy site. Town officials said that is the highest density allowed in the township. Trammell Crow's plan calls for 65 units per acre.
At the rally, dozens of residents chanted, "45 units is the crime and 65 units is just fine" in support
of the higher-density complex. The URP has gained little support from the community not only because of the density restriction, but because of the potential lawsuits and other delays associated with the plan. Town officials will most likely have to acquire the properties included in the design through condemnation.
"The town needs to sit down and compromise with Trammell Crow Residential," said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Civic Association, who brought her daughter and grandchildren to
the rally. "We don't want the Courtesy here, we don't want eminent domain, so it's time for negotiations."
While waving signs describing civic leaders' fight to close the Courtesy, several mothers read published statements made by Town Supervisor Kate
Murray that town officials were working expeditiously to do just that. Residents who have waited more than a decade to see the hotel closed said they feel ignored by the town board.
"The town is completely disregarding the will of the people here in West Hempstead, and the Courtesy stays open in the process," said resident Nikki Stamatas Thaw. "It's unbelievable that the town can't see that this [Trammell Crow] complex is exactly what West Hempstead needs."
The rally came just weeks after 5th Precinct police released the latest crime statistics for the Courtesy. Since January, police have responded to 64 calls and made 17 arrests at the hotel, for a range of crimes involving drugs, prostitution and robbery. In 2007 there were 77 arrests at the Courtesy.
Each year, many residents said, town officials promise that the hotel will be closed, but the promises go unfulfilled. Some recalled that at last year's rally they were told that the Courtesy would be closed and sold by the end of 2007. "We have learned here in West Hempstead that actions really do speak louder than words," said Scott Jablow, president of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association. "We were told that the Courtesy would be closed at the end of last year, but it's just talk."
"We are back at this rally for the second year, and the Courtesy and its problems is still here in our community," added Rabbi Art Vernon, who leads the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead. "We are going to keep rallying and lobbying until the town gets the message that we want this property sold to Trammell Crow Residential."
Town Councilman Edward Ambrosino said at the rally that he is confident that the Courtesy will "come down and that residents will be happy." Ambrosino, who represents West Hempstead, was the only town board member who supported the Trammell Crow proposal, but he abstained from voting on the plan because he is legal counsel to Ruskin Moscou Faltischeck P.C., which represents the developer. "If the town works together with the people, we can have this hotel down," Ambrosino said. "That's what needs to happen here."
At a legislative forum on March 27, Ambrosino announced to residents that town officials had sent out a Request for Proposal to four developers to begin the process of turning the
town's URP into a reality. The developers, chosen by a town committee, are Trammell Crow Residential, the Sheldrake Organization, Breslin Realty and the Benjamin Group. Town officials gave the developers 30 days to submit designs for the land in the URP.
Susan Trenkle, a spokeswoman for the town, said that all four developers submitted the RFPs to the town on May 5, and the town has established a committee to review the proposals. To date, Trammell Crow is the only developer that has met with residents
to discuss what they would like to see built in their community.
"The lawsuits that will come from this Urban Renewal Plan will tie this project up for years," Jablow said. "We have a reputable, national developer who has met with us and listened to what we want, and the town needs to negotiate with Trammell Crow and let this sale go through."
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
