54.0°,
Overcast 1st Precinct deal not done yet
Residents debate with legislators; vote moved to December
By MIKE RUSSO
There was no vote, but a dozen Baldwin residents still made their opposition known to the Nassau County Legislature, which was originally scheduled to vote Monday on a 60-year lease to authorize the construction of a new 1st Police Precinct in the Rosen Shopping Center on Grand Avenue.
"We're here to follow up and try to get this [deal] knocked down," said resident Joe Keegan before Monday’s session began. Keegan said he was opposed to the county leasing property from landlord David Rosen, who owns the Rosen Shopping Center, because taxpayers would be required to pay the rent, property taxes and construction costs for the precinct. "We don't want the precinct on rented ground," he said.
Residents hoped to request that the Legislature postpone the vote on the lease so they could meet with county officials to get more details. But when they arrived, they were informed that the lease would not be on the Legislature's agenda because lawmakers had to first approve a local law authorizing the proposal of a lease, which the county must do for any lease agreements of five years or more. (The vote on the lease will be Dec. 7.)
Despite the misunderstanding, residents took advantage of the public comment segment of the meeting to voice their concerns on the lease deal, which they described as a sweetheart deal for Rosen and a bad deal for them. "We were never involved in any of the discussion, and that's why we’re having a problem dealing with a contract that talks about a sweet deal for a landlord who has not been sweet to Baldwin," said Baldwin Oaks Civic Association President Jackie Bell, describing the often-half-vacant, poor condition of the Rosen Shopping Center.
Resident Jack McCloy suggested that the county consider other locations, such as the crumbling water pumping station near the Freeport/Baldwin border, for the precinct. McCloy said that the water plant is an example of a site where the county could build the precinct without affecting Baldwin's retail businesses.
