By:Hector Flores
According to a letter sent by Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilwoman Angie Cullin, the decision to deny the nursing home's expansion was based on resident concerns of over-developing and increased traffic in the area.
"Over-development and increased traffic can impact the quality of life - indeed, the very safety - of residents," the letter stated.
Guey Lee, a 30-year resident of Little Neck Avenue, said that he and his neighbors are pleased by the news. "We didn't want them to expand," he said. "The expansion would have hurt me the most because the senior complex is right on my backyard."
The Belair Realty Company, which owns the Belair Care Center Inc., bought three homes on Little Neck Avenue, just south of Jerusalem Avenue, for the planned expansion. If the expansion had been approved, it would have brought the facility onto Little Neck Avenue to within 20 feet of Lee's home. As of now, Lee's house sits about 50 feet from the facility.
Geri Joy Mallor, one of Lee's neighbors, was happy for him, but felt sad to see the vacant homes. "I was driving and looked at the homes and just felt sad to see them empty, especially because of the holidays," she said. "I have a couple of friends who are interested in buying those homes."
Repeated calls to Marvin Ostreicher, a Belair Care Center representative, were not returned by press time. But during the Sept. 22 Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, he explained that the planned expansion was necessary to meet the needs of the seniors at the center.
According to Ostreicher, the current facility has 102 rooms, with three to four patients per room. The rooms are so crowded that the beds are flush against the wall. As a result, residents have trouble getting their wheelchairs or walkers into the rooms. In addition, the center doesn't have recreational spaces, and wheelchair patients can't get into the building by themselves.
Ostreicher also said that when his company purchased the building, there were plans to expand it. The building designing firm of David, Lawrence, Mammina Architects was contracted and developed two plans to expand the existing 35,000-square-foot structure.
The first design called for a V-shaped, two-story building that expanded into Little Neck Avenue. The design maintained the center's current number of beds, but could potentially hold up to 120 beds. The design would have increased building space by 45,000 square feet, bringing the center's new square feet total to 80,000. This design required the center to buy the three homes on Jerusalem Avenue in 2003.
The second design called for a four-story building that would accommodate 102 to 120 beds and increase the facility's total square feet to 79,000.
However, after much deliberation, the center decided to go with its first design, because the New York state Department of Health looked upon it more favorably.
Comments about this story?Hflores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
