By JOSEPH KELLARD and CRIS ITALIA
Senior citizen Lois Anthor told Suozzi he hadn't done enough to correct problems like excessive noise, dust and dangerous traffic that residents say come from industries on or nearby Lawson Boulevard. She was especially concerned with Rieco Industries, which plans to open a recycling plant for construction materials in the Oil City section of Oceanside.
"You've got to take your anger out at the right people, the people who are at the planning board and the Town of Hempstead, who have been screwing this place for years, OK?" Suozzi answered Anthor heatedly. "And the appropriate way do it is to get involved, is to understand how government and politics works, and understand that I'm the best friend you ever had. I'm not thrifty. So don't give me a bunch of s--- that I'm not doing anything."
Suozzi added that with all he has been involved with in recent months, it has been difficult to hone in on specific community problems such as Rieco Industries. He stated that dealing with such issues as a budget crisis and police unions has clearly dominated his time.
About this exchange, by which some residents were clearly taken aback, Ian Siegel, Suozzi's special assistant, issued a statement: "[Mr. Suozzi] is very passionate about doing his job and about the issues facing Nassau County. He always speaks from the heart and the people have always respected him for his enthusiasm and honesty. Just like his constituents, he becomes equally as frustrated over problems, poor planning and zoning issues that he does not have the power to fix. He could yes people to death, but I do not think that was what he was elected to do."
Anthor insisted that she was not angry with Suozzi's response. "Well, I don't think he should have used the word s---," Anthor said. "I was surprised to see he said that ... I have nothing against him; I don't hate him or anything."
Still, she feels that Suozzi should have known of the situation, and what his fellow Democratic party member has fought hard against. "[Jeffrey] Toback was at the meeting," she said. "I'm sure they talk. He should know about what [Rieco] wants to do. My problem is that it needs to be stopped, because transferring waste through the streets of Oceanside is something that can be deadly."
Among Suozzi's other suggestions were that the Oceanside landfill could be put to recreational use, such as for golf or horseback ridding, which drew laughter from the crowd. "I'm not joking," Suozzi said. "It's being done in other areas. Why not put that open space to use? Do you want people to say, 'Look, the Oceanside landfill?' or 'Look, the Oceanside stables?' It's the same smell."
Suozzi said that such matters were a zoning issue and under the Town of Hempstead's jurisdiction, to which Anthor hollered that he should put more pressure on town officials to correct the problems. "He should go after them. He's got to have some pull," she said.
Suozzi's economic plan includes six initiatives: bringing in more high-tech, high-skilled industries; revitalizing downtown areas; redeveloping brownfields or underutilized commercial properties; creating more workforce and senior housing; maintaining existing open space; and attracting sporting events, entertainment and tourism.
This "master economic development plan" divides the county into 35 areas, and meetings continue to be held throughout the county to help combat the problems or add to the benefits of each individual community.
Suozzi's plan is to expand the tax base without raising property taxes, he said. According to the county executive, among the county's major challenges is its slow or non-existent population growth. In 1950 the county had roughly 400,000 residents; in 1960 the population had more than doubled to 1.2 million. Today, there are about 1.3 million Nassau residents.
"The main topic is, we've got to grow," Suozzi told the audience of about 120 residents. "If we don't grow, we won't have the money to expand our property tax base. We're not getting enough from state and federal aid, we're not getting enough from the sales tax increase ... If we don't want to raise property taxes, we have to grow. If we have to grow, we don't want to use up all our space and increase traffic. That's why we need a master plan for all of Nassau County to figure out how to grow over the next 30 years."
On the bus
Some 15 community leaders accompanied Suozzi on his bus tour throughout Oceanside, including Nassau County legislators Jeff Toback and Michael Zapson, Chamber of Commerce President Peter Fornino, South Nassau Communities Hospital President Joseph Quagliata, and resident Jerry Lamonica. Beginning at Great Lincoln Shopping center, the bus traveled along Atlantic Avenue, Lawson Boulevard, Hampton Road, the Town of Hempstead landfill, Waukena Avenue and Long Beach Road.
Taking what he'd learned from the tour, Suozzi said he would like to see the waterfront property along Hampton Road, presently an industrial area, converted into anything from water-dependent business to a commercial area similar to Freeport's Nautical Mile, with restaurants and even a hotel. He indicated he would contact the owner of the former Edwards supermarket on Long Beach Road about selling her property, and suggested possibly building a larger post office at that site. Grossman's Nursery could face condemnation, and "affordable" townhouses could be raised on that Atlantic Avenue property.
"He'd probably get more money out of it, and he'd be happy and you'd be happy," Suozzi told his fellow bus riders.
"When I think about the possibility of new buildings and new industry in the Oil City area," said one resident, "I just don't see how there is going to be anything but a tremendous problem with the traffic on Lawson Boulevard."
As he reiterated throughout the tour and meeting, Suozzi said that his were just preliminary ideas to be taken into account as his administration works out the details of its countywide development plan.
Another of these preliminary ideas was that zoning changes might be in order for Lawson Boulevard, where businesses and homes stand side by side, "because there's no way those commercial properties and residential houses can co-exist over time."
Seymour Strauss, an Oceanside resident for 53 years, said, "[School taxes] are unaffordable, and no politician ever addresses the school tax burden on the population ... Seniors are being driven away by school taxes, looking for a cheaper place to die."
"School taxes are a major issue all over Long Island, but the reason our property taxes are going up as much as they are is because we have very good schools," Suozzi replied. "However, it's very real that a lot of people who have been living here all their lives can't afford to pay them."
During the meeting, Suozzi pledged, "I will not increase the property taxes for the remainder of my term." He also discussed a variety of other issues, from cancer clusters to controlling wildlife such as geese in parks.
The county executive noted that among the 11 or 12 economic development meetings he'd hosted so far, Oceanside was among the most sparesely attended. "I take this to mean your community is in good shape and doesn't have a lot of problems like other communities do," Suozzi said.
