County, residents debate 1st Precinct lease

After weeks of failed attempts, residents finally secured a meeting on Monday with 1st Precinct project leaders to discuss their concerns about the proposed lease to move Baldwin’s police to the Rosen Shopping Center on Grand Avenue. But even after listening to 50 or so angry and often raucous residents during the two-hour forum, those Nassau County officials — which included Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) — seemed poised to throw their support behind the project when the lease is put to a vote by the county Legislature this Monday, much to the ire of many locals.

“It was a great deal for the county and it’s a deal I’m very proud of,” said Scannell. “It’s a project that will save us millions.”

A panel of county officials — representatives from the Department of Public Works, the Department of Real Estate and Planning and police officials — described the process by which they selected the Rosen Shopping Center, an extensive analysis of local properties based on feasibility and affordability for a police precinct. In addition, they attempted to address residents’ concerns about the cost of the project, the impact on school taxes, traffic flow, and whether the county would have oversight of the construction, which is being managed by David Rosen, the shopping center’s owner who many residents despise because of the often poor condition of the property.

Carl Shroeter, a county real estate official, explained that the county tried to avoid taking homes through eminent domain or putting any retail stores out of business for the precinct project. Before proposing the lease arrangement, Shroeter said, the county sought to purchase the property from Rosen but was unsuccessful. He added that if the county had seized the property through eminent domain, Rosen likely would have fought the action in court and delayed the project even further. “The legal process could have stretched out forever,” Shroeter said. “We are very proud that we got a public/private partnership and that we will have control over all aspects [of the project].”