By JOSEPH KELLARD
In a letter to owner Maro Goldstone, Joseph Gioino, executive director of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, indicated he was prepared to "recommend that the IDA board members schedule and legally notice a public hearing pursuant to the Eminent Domain Procedure Law" regarding the shopping center, which is on Atlantic Avenue in Oceanside.
The IDA, which regulates the county's economic development, would determine whether it would serve a "public purpose" for the agency to acquire the property for itself or a sponsor in order to redevelop and revitalize it, Gioino wrote.
Since Great Lincoln is a highly visible and "crucial" component of the town's commercial and economic vibrancy, its "blighted condition" -- with nine units "vacant or underutilized" and the "poor condition" of the structure and storefronts -- led to his decision, Gioino argued.
Gioino was informed by Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback and other people in Oceanside that they made attempts to constructively address the condition and redevelopment of the property, but that those efforts were fruitless.
In a four-page letter, Gary Steinberg, Goldstone's lawyer, responded to Gioino by acknowledging that many of the storefronts at the 49-year-old shopping center are "dated," but contested Gioino's characterization of it as "blighted."
Steinberg pointed to the shopping center's CVS Pharmacy and M&T Bank, which both sport more modern facades and account for 35 percent of Great Lincoln's square footage. Steinberg argued that despite the shopping center's vacancies, these and the other business there are successful and serve the needs of the Oceanside community.
Elaborating on this point, Steinberg wrote that Long Beach Road has a "substantial" number of vacant stores, that CVS and M&T "are comparable or better than any" of the stores or banks on Oceanside's main thoroughfare, and that the existing and even vacant stores in Great Lincoln are "the same or better in appearance and condition of most other stores on Long Beach Rd."
While Goldstone had plans to renovate the shopping center, she had trouble getting them approved and securing the required financing due to a pollution problem at the shopping center, discovered in 1998 by the Environmental Protection Agency and Nassau County, Steinberg explained. While sampling and monitoring wells were installed in the sidewalks and parking lot to correct the problem, the delay was extended when the EPA files were destroyed in the World Trade Center collapse on Sept. 11, 2001.
Meanwhile, in 1999, Goldstone already had approved plans for renovations and an acceptable fixed-price bid from a contractor when Nassau County told her it could obtain the financing for renovation if she surrendered all control and involvement in matters such as selection of an architect and general contractor, design, cost and financing, Steinberg wrote, adding that Goldstone declined this offer.
The Town of Hempstead had also contacted Goldstone about working with her to obtain the financing, but the town failed to get back to her, Steinberg said.
Steinberg indicated that the plan was approved last summer, and in January a preliminary commitment by Metropolitan National Bank was issued for an amount sufficient to cover the projected remediation and renovation costs.
He indicated that the renovation work is expected to begin this spring, and that Goldstone intends to rent the vacant stores to national chains.
