By Mike Caputo
Plans to move a Nassau Downs OTB to a vacant lot at 711 Burnside Ave. were abandoned after the Town of Hempstead board approved a zoning ordinance that restricts such establishments from opening near homes, schools and places of worship. The ordinance was approved at a town board meeting on Feb. 5.
The town's decision capped a seven-week effort by the North Lawrence Civic Association, led by residents Vincent Spinelli and Helena Armioia, to keep the betting parlor out. The association spearheaded a campaign of petitions and letters to county officials voicing vigorous opposition to allowing OTB to move into the neighborhood. Hundreds of residents got involved, which, Armioia said, factored into the town's action.
"It happened very fast, but that's because we put so much pressure on them," Armioia said. "And they did it."
When Nassau Downs OTB President Dino Amoroso told area residents about his plans to move a branch to the Burnside Avenue property, which once housed Universal Auto World, neighbors loudly voiced their opposition. The OTB president introduced his plans at a public meeting on Dec. 18, which was called by community leader Jesse Mistero.
Amoroso explained that the decision to move to Burnside Avenue was contingent on an expired lease at the branch's current site, 309 Rockaway Turnpike, in the Falcaro Shopping Center.
Initially, most residents on the affected blocks of Lawrence Lane and Bluth Street appeared pessimistic. However, Spinelli and Armioia helped revive the North Lawrence Civic Association, an organization that had been dormant since the 1960s. The association hosted nearly 100 residents at a community meeting on Jan. 8, and called on local elected officials to help stop the OTB from moving into the neighborhood.
At the meeting, Armioia asked Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside), who was in attendance, for help. The county Legislature appoints the board members of Nassau Downs OTB, a nonprofit agency that has generated more than $217 million in revenue for the county in its 28-year existence.
Toback told the audience that he did not have the power to stop the OTB from setting up shop on the vacant property, but promised that he would look for a solution. He told the Herald that he agreed that the property was an inappropriate location for an OTB outlet, and he suggested the idea of a zoning change to Town of Hempstead officials.
Toback reiterated the residents' cause and explained the importance of finding a new home for the OTB. "I think that the residents made a good case that this was not the proper site, and I am working hard with the OTB to find a more suitable location in the area," Toback said. "It is a profitable branch and OTB is a revenue generation stream for the county, so it is important that they have a viable location, and hopefully they can come to a conclusion."
Amoroso told the Herald in January that the OTB had signed a 10-year lease, with a five-year option, for the Burnside Avenue property. Lawrence attorney Paul Sod, who represented the civic association, obtained a restraining order to temporarily freeze the lease agreement. The town's decision to authorize the zoning ordinance prompted Amoroso and the OTB to cancel their plans to move.
Amoroso was unavailable for comment.
Although state zoning code already restricts OTBs from operating within 500 feet of schools and houses of worship, the town's new ordinance keeps them a minimum of 500 feet from homes and 1,000 feet from schools and churches.
North Lawrence residents contended that the clientele at the Rockaway Turnpike OTB outlet regularly loiter, urinate in public and accost passing youths. They fervently opposed a move into their neighborhood, fearing for their quality of life, safety and property values. One homeowner's backyard borders the property, and two homes sit directly across the street, on Lawrence Lane.
Oceanside and Island Park residents had a similar experience with Nassau Downs OTB in 2003. There were plans to move a branch from the industrial Lawson Boulevard to Austin Boulevard, near schools and homes. The plans never came to fruition, however, and the branch remains on Lawson Boulevard.
Unlike the Oceanside OTB, however, the North Lawrence branch must find a new location, because its lease is expiring. Hempstead Town Councilman Jim Darcy (R-Valley Stream) recommended several other locations, including abandoned property along Bay Boulevard and Route 878. The parcel, which once housed a Duane Reade pharmacy, is adjacent to Sanitary District 1, and there are no homes nearby.
In a mailing, Darcy and Town Supervisor Kate Murray advised Inwood and North Lawrence residents to sign a petition against the OTB's plan to move to Burnside Avenue and called for Amoroso's ouster as president if he moved ahead with the proposal. Murray and Darcy co-sponsored the zoning ordinance.
"We told them we would vigorously fight the betting parlor," Darcy said. "We will not accept this in our residential communities in close proximity to the homes where our children play."
Spinelli commended Darcy and other local officials. The North Lawrence Civic Association president said his doctors were concerned about the impact of the stress on his health. Now that the OTB has been denied, Spinelli plans to continue his work with the civic association, but on a less rigorous schedule.
"I feel a load off my mind," said Spinelli, a lifelong resident of Inwood and North Lawrence. "When they told us everything was going our way, I started relaxing a little bit."
Comments about this story? Call (516) 569-4000 ext. 210 or e-mail MCaputo@liherald.com.
