By Laura Lane
Wang met with about 75 residents, some from as far away as Seaford, at East Meadow High School May 3 to discuss the potential impact the mammoth project would have on the surrounding neighborhoods, including East Meadow, Bellmore and Merrick.
Wang said several times throughout the meeting, organized by the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations (CEMCO), that he saw the creation of the 60-story Lighthouse as a beacon of hope and pride that would be seen for miles and offer breathtaking views of Manhattan and Montauk.
Several people who attended, however, said they didn-t support building a structure so tall in Uniondale. As an open-space advocate, I don-t find it exciting to see a tall building from everywhere on Long Island, said Richard Schary, a North Bellmore resident and a member of the Nassau County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee. Even Washington, D.C., has a height limit for their icon, the Capitol building. Instead of building a 60-story building, why not have three 20-story flashlights?
Though in favor of most of the project-s points, one resident was concerned that the Lighthouse would be a target for terrorists.
Gary Citro, of Hicksville, had several quality-of-life concerns. We will have glare coming into windows while people sleep at night, he said. I worry that the Lighthouse will create light pollution. I don-t want electronic, bright billboards, and I told Mr. Wang this.
How the local fire departments would handle a disaster at the 60-story tower was also questioned. Wang said his experts were studying the idea of upgrading the Uniondale Fire Department, since it isn-t properly equipped to fight a high-rise fire.
Having lived in East Meadow for 51 years, retired architect Leonard Dorfman said Wang-s project would only exacerbate an already major traffic problem. Every time we get requests from the legislators to approve a project, they never concern themselves with traffic flow, and the number of traffic lanes never keeps pace with the traffic flow, Dorfman said. If, as Wang said, Nassau County will benefit with his proposal, why not consider doing it off Jones Beach, which won-t compound the traffic problems we already have? I really worry we-re going to lose suburban living.
Wang disagreed with the claim that the project would create traffic issues. The only time there-s traffic congestion on Hempstead Turnpike is one half-hour before and one half-hour after the games [at the coliseum], he said.
Richard Bivone, CEMCO-s vice president and president of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, said Wang-s plans will place an unfair tax burden on East Meadow residents. We own this property, he said, and the cost of fire service and water [will] severely affect East Meadow-s tax structure.
Christine Marzigliano, chairwoman of the Cedar Creek Health Risk Assessment Committee, worried that developing the land around the Coliseum might overload sewage plants. There-s limited capacity at the sewage plants, 75 million gallons a day per plant, she said. Right now we-re running at 55 million at Cedar Creek. [With Wang-s project and other developments] we-ll be almost near capacity for the sewage plants. A new sewage treatment plant is a billion dollars can you imagine what this will do to our taxes?
The Coliseum and Lighthouse project would cost $245 million, $168 million of which Wang would front. The state would also be asked to kick in a $30 million grant already approved in 1997, and issue another $47 million grant, Wang said.
The county wouldn-t pay anything, but would agree to a 99-year lease of the land. The deal would also guarantee that the Islanders would stay put until 2025, 10 years beyond the expiration of the team-s current lease.
The finished product would generate $100 million in incremental revenues to the county over the years, as well as $45 million in rent and $33 million in losses saved, Wang said. Under the agreement, the county would no longer be responsible for the Coliseum-s utilities and maintenance.
Aside from the new Coliseum and the Lighthouse, a 50,000-square-foot athletic complex, a 125,000-square-foot exhibition hall, rental apartments and a sports technology center would be erected.
The project would need approval from the Hempstead Town Board of Zoning Appeals and the Nassau County Legislature. If it were approved, work on the Nassau Coliseum would begin in 2006 or 2007 and finish by 2009. The Lighthouse would take eight to 10 years to build.
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