52 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, October 11, 2019
READERS WRITE
Opening Elmont Station on time a challenge
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n Sept. 25, funding to pay for the new $105 million Long Island Rail Road Elmont Station for the Islanders Belmont Park Arena was officially amended into the existing Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s ongoing $33 billion 2015-2019 Five-Year Capital Plan. The source of funding comes from the Empire State Development Corporation transferring $105 million from their budget to the MTA, which will pay for the new Elmont LIRR Station. Board members rubber-stamped this action by voting in favor with no discussion. They were unaware and couldn’t care about two ongoing lawsuits against the Islanders Belmont Arena
It is interesting that Gov. Cuomo has manipulated the MTA funding process using one state agency budget to help another fund a project.He is robbing Peter to pay Paul. At the end of the day, it is all the taxpayers’ money.The developers are putting in $30 million upfront and the state $75 million. The developers will then make payments, without interest, to reimburse the state over the next 30 years. The developer ends up with an interest-free loan. Could a small business person get the same sweetheart deal?They would have to go to a bank and pay interest charges for a similar loan. The next step would be for the Albany based MTA four-person MTA Capital
Program Review Board to also adopt this amendment. Completion of these actions willlegally allowthe LIRR to proceed with construction of the new Elmont LIRR Station now rather than wait for adoption of the new$51 billion 2020 – 2024Five Year Capital Plan by end of December. With 25months left before the scheduled opening of the new Arena, it will remain achallengefor the LIRR to complete various capital improvements. These include the eastbound platform (serving the Hempstead branch) for the new Elmont Station, in time to coincide with the promised fall 2021 opening of the Arena. It will also be interesting if we can
learn about the internal LIRR schedule on behalf of the ESDC for advancement of design and engineering, procurement process, award of construction contract followed by a notice to proceed, contractor mobilization and detailed project construction schedule with interim progress milestones to validate the promisedcompletion of the newElmont Station and other related transportationimprovements. Larry Penner Great Neck (Larry Penneris a transportation historian, writer andadvocate who previously worked 31 years for the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.
New leadership needed to fix G.N.’s biz district
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s businesses in Great Neck continue to shutter and our downtown continues to erode, it is fair to say that our community is suffering from a lack of leadership. The article “Officials Discuss Downtown” on the front page of the Oct. 4, 2019 issue of the Great Neck News was another missed opportunity to shine a light on the problems that afflict this community. Our simple reality is that the career politicians that “govern” us won’t be able to breathe life into this community. They lack clarity and conviction, and in more than a few cases, they have carelessly mismanaged Great Neck for decades. While I appreciate that the various mayors and elected officials of Great Neck and the Town of North Hempstead are concerned about the blight that is
Middle Neck Road, let’s not lose sight that this is, in fact, the responsibility of the Village of Great Neck Plaza. Our elected officials are responsible for the stubborn death spiral we all get to witness as we pass the dirty storefronts that line our main thoroughfare. The Village of Great Neck Plaza and its longstanding elected officials deserve much of the credit for the demise of our downtown. They also deserve credit for their inability to create opportunities for investment and redevelopment within the Plaza. The Town of North Hempstead won’t fix this problem. The school board can’t fix this problem. And the surrounding village officials have no actionable role in addressing this problem. We live in a community where our local elected officials—from the top
down—are complacent (and so are local voters for that matter!) as they ignore many years of economic erosion, failed policies, cronyism and simple inaction. We live in a village that is plagued by superfluous village expenses such as the cost of healthcare premiums for trustee spouses, illogical plans to improve the local economy by beautifying empty storefronts, a weak and ill-equipped Business Improvement District, and public art installed next to parking lots. Feeble attempts to govern and simple-minded approaches won’t spur growth. Here are a few ways our elected officials could start addressing the problems over which they preside: reallocate village funds and hire a qualified professional to implement and lead an economic development plan; walk through the village and speak to the very people
who live and shop here; take advantage of the few entities that have thrived such as the Gold Coast Art Center; and create an advisory council of real business leaders and seek their advice on revitalization. Just do something, and please, do it soon. None of us can see the future, but this prediction seems pretty clear: property values throughout the entire peninsula will suffer and resources for our schools will become scarcer if our downtown isn’t fixed, and fixing this requires more than a handful of ill-equipped politicos sitting around a table reminiscing about the good old days. Michael S. Glickman Village of Great Neck Plaza Immediate Past President, Gold Coast Arts Center
Obama’s home buy proves climate change lie
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hank you President Obama! You have confirmed what the vast amount of Americans believe. That capitalism is terrific. Consider this. With his law degree, he tried to help people in Chicago with his community hope and change activity. He went on to become a United States senator. Then he became president of the United States. Talk about moving up the
economic ladder. It did not end there. He received a$ 60,000,000 book advance. And now he is producing movies for Netflix. Talk about black privilege! No different than white privilege…the privilege of living in the United States. And he uttered his thoughts on the Global Warming/Climate Change discussion. A few years ago it was predicting
the destruction of the earth, Manhattan would be underwater as the seas rose. It didn’t happen. Today, the crazy leftists are now saying in just eleven years the same doomsday scenario is upon us. And those living near the water’s edge are in trouble. Enter President Obama. He has no such fears. He has just purchased a $14.85 million Martha Vineyard
home. The property sits on Edgartown Great Pond, an 890- acre body of water separated from the Atlantic by a slim barrier beach. He is scared that he and his family will be washed away. John Messina East Williston
Support the Community Chest of Port
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he Community Chest is a nonprofit organization and is one of Port’s oldest, having been around for 75 years. While much has changed in seven decades, much has not; we continue
to give funds to charities that serve the People of Port. I’m on the board of the Community Chest of Port Washington and one of my challenges is to reach new donors so we can continue to keep Port a strong com-
munity. We all know that everyone benefits when residents are physically and emotionally healthy and safe. Please donate today to the Community Chest of Port Washington, 382 Main St., Port Washing-
ton, N.Y. 11050 or on-line at www.portchest.org. Thank you. Mitch Schultz Board member Community Chest of Port Washington