_________________ FREEPORT _________________
HERALD
February 10, 2022
2022
HOMETOWN
HEROES
OK YEARBOOK BUSINESS
CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS
VOLUNTEERS
EDUCATION
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
FIRST RESPONDERS
RESTAURANTS
HEALTH CARE
YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS
LIBRARIES
WORSHIP
Hometown Heroes Yearbook Inside
W
$1.00
Vol. 87 No. 7
A Community Affairs hello
CubeSat is a national winner!
Page 8
Page 11
FEBRUARY 10 - 16, 2022
Town IDA OK’s proposal for Hilton By REiNE BEtHANY rbethany@liherald.com
Courtesy NBD Holding LLC
AN ARCHitECt’S RENdERiNg of the proposed Hilton Garden Inn on the Nautical Mile in Freeport.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Schooner, a 350seat restaurant at the foot of Woodcleft Avenue next to the Hunter Pointe Marina. Neither the restaurant nor the marina recovered. Where the restaurant once stood, seagulls now soar over a large muddy field that is separated from the sidewalk by a tall chain-link fence. The unused space may soon be occupied by a hotel and conference center after the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency gave prelimi-
nary approval Jan. 31 for economic development incentives to support the hotel’s construction. The benefits, which were granted to NBD Holding LLC, are subject to further IDA review, a public hearing and final authorization resolution. NBD intends to construct a 89,836-square-foot Hilton Garden Inn on 1.615 acres of vacant land, at a cost of $43 million. In addition to its 100 rooms, the venue would have a 125-person capacity ballroom and an attached, independently operated 100-seat restaurant. Continued on page 12
Town, county officials decry governor’s zoning plan By MAlloRY WilSoN and REiNE BEtHANY mwilson@liherald.com; rbethany@liherald.com
Hempstead Town and Nassau County officials — and some South Shore residents — are up in arms over a zoning proposal in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2022-23 state budget. Dozens of officials gathered outside an East Meadow home Feb. 3 to advocate against “Section AA” of the proposed budget, which would effectively eliminate single-family zoning across New York state. If the budget is approved, the provision would mandate that singlefamily homes be permitted to
add at least one “accessory dwelling unit.” The proposal would allow homeowners to turn basements, garages and attics into separate residents. Local zoning to prevent such units would be prohibited. At the news conference last week, town and county officials warned that the provision could increase suburban traf fic, strain resources and infrastructure, and overcrowd public schools. “The governor is attempting to basically mandatorily require that anybody can put an accessory unit on their house,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin. “We are not stand-
ing for it.” “It’s an attack on the suburbs, it’s an attack on the suburban way of living,” County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. “This is a power grab by New York City politicians, and we’re not going to take it.” The officials called on residents to contact Hochul’s office and say they reject the proposal. A Feb. 4 letter to the governor, signed by the Town of Hempstead Board, requested that she remove the provision from the state budget. Rich Nicolello, presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, called the provision an “aggressive overreach by the
governor.” County Le gislator Steve Rhoads, a Republican from Bellmore who represents part of Freeport, agreed, saying in a post-conference interview that the provision was written as an attachment to the state budget. To vote against that one provision, the State Legislature would have to vote down the
entire budget. “The Legislature already voted against that proposal,” Rhoads said. “It never made it out of committee. Putting it into the budget, you’re subverting the democratic process. And it’s permitted under state law. The state constitution is bizarre in that you can insert into the budContinued on page 14