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Overcast Focusing on transit-oriented development
Planners narrow list of downtown projects
With the April 24 state submission deadline nearing, the Local Planning Committee, a group of area leaders mapping out the redevelopment of downtown Baldwin, narrowed the list of projects to revitalize the central section of the community at its Feb. 25 meeting.
For months, residents, consultants, and state and Town of Hempstead officials have discussed potential developments that would fall within the Baldwin zoning overlay district, which has a temporary zoning code meant to encourage developers to build there and revitalize the downtown, which has struggled with vacant buildings for nearly 20 years.
The overlay zone is being implemented with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, for which Baldwin received a $10 million state grant. The funding was awarded as part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which officials said aims to revitalize communities and boost the local economy.
The local focus
Local Planning Committee members shifted their focus toward funding projects that are near the Long Island Rail Road station, at Sunrise Highway and Grand Avenue. Consultants from VHB Engineering and representatives of FX Collaborative explored transit-oriented development sites near the train station, including a potential public plaza at 775 Brooklyn Ave. that would be a gathering space and an “attractive presence.”
“What’s important is to create a critical mass that’s going to support local retail, restaurants and the community,” Mark Strauss, of FX, said at the meeting at Baldwin High School. “The important factor is not only the development that will come in, it’s also about creating public spaces that become the front door to the community.”
“Obviously this is a critical site within the Baldwin downtown. It’s right next to the railroad station,” said Abi Rudow of VHB. “It’s at a critical intersection within our area.”
Along with a public plaza set back from Brooklyn Avenue about 50 feet, the space would offer 45 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail space. Rudow said she would keep LPC members updated on conversations with the property owners, who attended the meeting.
“We do think that this has real potential to be the centerpiece, to be the crown jewel of the program, given its proximity to the train station in the heart of the redevelopment zone,” said Michael Paleos, who owns the property at 775 Brooklyn Ave. with his father, Nick. They are lifelong Baldwin residents.
“I think I can speak for everyone that this is much needed, and if it’s done the right way, we have the potential to transform the community and to make it vibrant . . . ,” Paleos said during the public comment part of the meeting. “I just want to stress that we are not a nameless, faceless developer. We are a father and a son, and we’re committed to seeing this through to getting it to be a success.”
Consultants said other sites slated for transit-oriented development include 1891 Grand Ave., 800 Merrick Road, 803 Foxhurst Road and Malkin Appliances, at 1999 Grand Ave. Altogether, the plans would create 765 residential units — about 786,000 square feet of residential space — and 70,000 square feet of retail space, as well as parking spots.
The goal is to “activate” the downtown and bring in people who would live within a half-mile of the LIRR station. Overall, consultants said the transit-oriented development projects would cost about $24.3 million, of which about $6.4 million is requested from the $10 million state grant.
Additionally, LPC members said they would remove the food business incubation and grocery center from the list of potential projects to be funded, because of the lack of a project sponsorship and location for the project. The Baldwin Downtown Public Art Project, Baldwin Public Library interior renovations and the Baldwin Historical Society and Museum property projects were classified as “supported but may not be the best fit or ready for DRI funding.”
Taking on the blight
Carol Cutrone, a longtime Baldwin resident, asked about the strip of empty stores along Grand Avenue across from the bowling alley, including the vacant lot at 2410 Grand Ave. “To me, that’s one of the worst areas,” Cutrone said.
Rudow explained that consultants and officials have not heard from the property owners and can only work with people who present a proposal.
“The town did outreach to every single property owner within this overlay district,” she said, adding that there is a great deal of development south of the area, and that the hope is that it will incentivize more developers and “catalyze redevelopment throughout Baldwin.”
Linda Degen, of Baldwin, shared concerns about the Town of Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision to grant a continuance of a variance that allows the owner of an auto storage lot near the LIRR station to continue storing vehicles there. She also criticized the decision to reject a local developer’s plans to transform the library’s plaza, and noted the eyesore of boarded-up stores near the redevelopment area.
“You can’t come down Grand Avenue with beautiful trees and light posts and beautiful sidewalks and come to Stanton Avenue and have these buildings boarded up,” Degen said. “You see those ugly, disgusting buildings that are falling down, and, of course, you got the Pathmark that’s all boarded up . . . If your business closes, we’re sorry, but you have to [make] your property presentable for the community.”
Consultants and officials also said they plan to leverage town and county investments to transform the pedestrian experience. The Town of Hempstead aims to improve walkway connectivity from town parking lots to Grand Avenue and Merrick Road. It would also implement Brooklyn Avenue streetscape improvements, which would complement the public plaza near the LIRR station.
The next community meeting is scheduled for March 11.
