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Vol. 28 No. 6
Civic leaders talk Baldwin’s future which neighbors have said has had empty storefronts and vacant buildings for some two Baldwin civic leaders recently decades. discussed the community’s “One of the biggest driving development plans at a virtual things that we had as part of the panel hosted by Vision Long ‘Baldwin needs revitalization’ Island, an organization that effort was this corner of Grand advocates for community growth Avenue and Merrick Road that and development. they’ve been trying Baldwin Civic to develop — it’s Association Presilike 20 years,” Mondent Darien Ward talbano said. and immediate “Finally, I think we Past President may have reached Karen Montalbano the point of actualdiscussed plans to ly getting somerevitalize the where, because we d o w n t o w n a n d KAREN finally got a Baldimprove branding moNtAlBANo win overlay zone, and walkability on and we’re looking a segment of “Long Past president, forward to that, Island Main Street Baldwin Civic along with other News” on Jan. 19. projects that are in Association Eric Alexander, the works.” director of Vision Happening in Long Island, hosted tandem with the Ward and Montalbano. He had overlay district is the state’s helped draft the plans for Bald- Downtown Revitalization Initiawin’s overlay zone, a district tive, for which Baldwin received with a temporary zoning code a $10 million grant two years meant to encourage develop- ago. Town of Hempstead and ment with the least possible dis- state officials have joined comruption. munity leaders and consultants The Hempstead Town Board throughout the past year to voted to adopt the overlay dis- brainstorm, plan and finalize a trict last year to bring life back to the struggling downtown, Continued on page 11
By BRiDGEt DowNEs bdownes@liherald.com
w
e want to develop our identity.
Courtesy Baldwin School District
thinking outside the blacktop box Steele Elementary School students took part in a variety of fitness exercises after phys. ed. teachers Joseph Billi and Richard Garguilo created a blacktop activity wheel in the schoolyard using paint and cardboard box stencils. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Officials: ‘eyesore’ cleaned up By BRiDGEt DowNEs bdownes@liherald.com
A vacant property on Verity Lane in Baldwin that local residents say had been used as a dumping yard for more than a year has been cleaned up. The private property, near Verity Lane and Grand Avenue, had been partially covered by piles of debris and trash, but was cleared as of last week. For months, dozens of resi-
dents took to social media to share their concerns about the site, and it became a quality-oflife issue. The parcel is in the middle of a residential area. John Cools, commissioner of Baldwin’s Sanitary District No. 2, had attempted to correct the situation by making calls to one of the property owners. Cools then notified State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach, who stepped in and contacted the property owners,
urging them to clean up the land and remove the trash. “His office really spearheaded it and made it happen,” Cools said of Kaminsky, adding that his own calls were fruitless. The property has been vacant for about 12 years, Cools said, after the previous owners sold it to a developer who neighbors said had planned to build townhouses in the space. That never Continued on page 4