Friday, October 18, 2019
Vol. 96, No.4
FOUNDED 1923
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DOUGLAS ELLIMAN LEADS TH E MARKE T Tsui Ying (Judy ) Hsu
LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Lic . R. E. Sa les pe rso n
O: 516.307.940
6 M: 516.695.8 024 tsuiying.hsu@ elliman.com Garden City Offi ce | 130 Sevent h Street See our ad on
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Day of Service PAGE 48 n Charity poker PAGE 32
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© 2019 DOUGLAS ELLI MAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. 110 WALT WHITMAN ROAD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NY 11746. 631.549. 7401
Two years, two owners, two extensions for 555 Stewart Ave.
REMEMBERING SABRINA
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
ident Leo Stimmler quoted Garden City Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph DiFrancisco who told the village trustees on October 3 that remediation of the 1,4 dioxane in the village water supply could cost upwards of $48 million. “He (DiFrancisco) said about $48 million and our new water tower (at the same Old Country Road site) is about $7.1 million. That’s a total of at least $55 million in bonded debt. I am hoping that at least at some point in
On Thursday, October 17 the Board of Trustees was set to vote on extending the time limit for the 555 Stewart Avenue property owner/developer to obtain site plan approval to build a 150-unit apartment complex with one, two and three-bedroom units that would include 10% of units set aside for affordable housing, mandated by Federal Court for new developments in Garden City following the MHANY/ACORN Fair Housing litigation. Initially, between late 2017 and mid-2018 the Kings Point-based owner/developer 550 Stewart Acquisitions LLC sought a zoning change for the 555 Stewart Avenue, as one building of 150 units was proposed adjacent to Raymond Court in the furthest east point of the village bordering Roosevelt Field. On June 21, 2018 the Village Board enacted a zoning change (local law) for the area, determined a standard for the (as-proposed) new four-story building’s height and then instructed village counsel to draft an agreement in which the then-applicant, 550 Stewart Acquisitions LLC, would be responsible to pay its share of Village of Garden City taxes, deemed “making the village whole.” On July 10, 2018 the Board granted a use permit for the development of the originally-proposed 150 units in the multiple-dwelling residence at 555 Stewart Avenue. For most of the 2018-2019 school year, the Garden City Union Free School District and community members followed the application to the Nassau County IDA for a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) for up to 20 years on the property’s school district portion of taxes, submitted in late March to the Nassau IDA by the parcel’s new owner -- Nashville, Tennessee-based Southern Land Company (d/b/a SLC Development, LLC) which paid $22.5 million to the previous owner for the 4.65-acres at 555 Stewart Avenue early this year. As reported in the News on April 25, 2019, the Garden City Board of Education reached an agreement with Southern Land Company to collect payments in lieu of taxes with a contribution of $500,000 over the first five years of a two-decade PILOT. The PILOT was granted by the Nassau IDA in May. At the time of the PILOT approval, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran commented that she was “especially pleased by the IDA’s approval of the Southern Land Garden City project and I commend the developers’ commit-
See page 45
See page 45
The Garden City High School Varsity Field Hockey team dedicated its October 12th game against Carle Place in memory of Sabrina Milone, an alumna of the team who died in a car crash in June.
Coming expenses raise concerns BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
In early October, the Village Board of Trustees answered residents’ concerns about the potential ramifications for village taxes and water bills as Garden City faces heavy costs for the removal of 1,4 dioxane from the municipal water supply ahead of receiving any State of New York grant funds and with new mandates for water safety expected to take effect January 1, 2020. At its October 3 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a
$6.5 million bond resolution specifically for Village Wells 13 and 14, allocated from the Village of Garden City capital budget account. The single highest cost among the recent allocations was for the purchase of $1,212,600 for an Ultraviolet Advanced Oxidation Equipment from Canadian vendor Trojan Technologies in Ontario, as this is the only system approved for use by the New York State Department of Health for the removal of 1,4 dioxane. Environmental Advisory Board member and East res-
Rebooting the Civic Beautification Committee PAGE 10 The Andy Foundation builds a playground PAGES 40-41