By ANGELA MARSHALL
Believe facade program long overdue
More than a year after receiving the first drawing of Town of Hempstead Facade Program plans for Grand Avenue, the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce is still waiting to see change. This month, they began a letter-writing campaign in hopes of putting pressure on town officials to start the project.
Part one of Baldwin's facade project would involve several businesses on the east side of Grand Avenue just north of Merrick Road. Under the town's program, building owners would split the cost of renovating the store fronts. Fifty percent would be paid for by state grants to the Town of Hempstead, and fifty percent would be paid for by the property owners. Low-interest loans would be made available.
Doris Duffy, a member of the chamber's Downtown Development Committee, rallied residents, saying promises were made that must be kept.
"I certainly want to apologize to the community and the chamber for the delay," said Richard Guardino, Hempstead Town supervisor, when contacted after the chamber's September meeting. "It didn't get done as quickly as we had hoped."
The project was slated to go out to bid in early summer, but was delayed, according to Mr. Guardino, because of the need for additional engineering renderings.
"We're actually advertising for bids as of tomorrow," the supervisor said on Thursday, September 28.
A meeting between the town and the chamber's development committee is scheduled for later this month.
Even after hearing Mr. Guardino's update, chamber members remain skeptical. "We're going to keep the letter-writing campaign going," Ms. Duffy said. "I think the town needs encouragement."
Although property owners have been made aware of the project, none has definitively signed on. According to Mr. Guardino, architectural and engineering renderings of the project are done first. They are put out to bid, the town board approves a contractor, and then the property owners are approached to see if they want to participate. "Until you get the bids," the supervisor said, "you don't know what the actual cost is."
The current estimated cost of the project is $320,000. "It might be higher; it might be lower," Mr. Guardino said.
A second phase of the project has also been proposed, for Merrick Road. However, Mr. Guardino emphasized that it is still in the proposal stage. "Certainly, we'll expand it," he said, but he believes the town should finish the first phase before discussing expansion.
"I hope that they handle the rest of the project with a higher degree of professionalism," Ms. Duffy said. "We'd like a third and a fourth and a fifth phase."
Despite the delay, Mr. Guardino said the project will be a "home run" for property owners. Similar renovations have been done in Bellmore and Merrick. "Bellmore is really the model," he said. "That's what we're looking to do in Baldwin."
