'State of Elmont' sets course for year

Civic leaders and legislators came out Tuesday, March 3 to talk about Elmont's future, and plot a course for the hamlet in the coming year. In an event billed as the "State of Elmont," residents also took time to look back on the accomplishments of the last 12 months.

The "State of Elmont" event, a joint effort by the Elmont Chamber of Commerce and several local civic associations, was an opportunity for leaders to reach out to a group of more than 100 locals, all of whom were anxious to see what lies ahead for their hometown.

Legislators, public safety officials and educators came together to paint a picture of Elmont's status from every conceivable angle, with special concern given to what residents should look forward to, and be vigilant of, in 2010.

Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella said that residents of Elmont, in particular those who use the LIRR and other MTA services, need to stand up to planned cuts in service this year. Many of those losses, which were detailed recently by the service giant, would have a huge fiscal impact on commuters who depend on the MTA to take them to jobs in the city.

At a time when local leaders, especially those concerned about the revitalization of Elmont, are hoping for more ways to access the area, the downstate transit authority is looking for every possible way to save money, Muscarella said, and residents have to fight it.

State Sen. Craig Johnson's representative, Abdul Hakim, said Johnson's office is working hard to push forward a resolution that would allow video lottery terminals at the Belmont Racetrack. The legislation, which is still seeking a sponsor in the state Assembly, was part of last year's package of budget bills but was eliminated at the last minute. This year, with the budget situation still very much up in the air, Johnson has sent the bill out on its own. Spokesman Rich Azzopardi said Johnson was willing to work with anyone in the assembly to see VLT's in the community.

County Legislator John Ciotti hung his hat on several improvements made to Elmont’s business districts over the past year, including pavement rehabilitation and street improvements made along Dutch Broadway and Elmont Road.

Ciotti said that the improvements were the first of many to come, and announced that more than $250,000 in additional funds would be coming to Elmont to help business owners in the area draw in more customers.

“The response so far has been excellent [to these improvements]” Ciotti said. “And the reason it’s excellent, is that people recognize, if you enhance the downtown areas, it’s going to draw more customers and help these businesses survive during these bad economic times.”

Increases in capital improvement funds are always welcome in any community, and Ciotti said that he was planning to reveal some new projects to the community in the near future.

Ciotti also revealed that he’s planning to improve Elmont Road Park, a greenspace he said he believes is beautiful but woefully underutilized.

“I’m attempting to put in a baseball field over there,” he said. “The more types of athletic activities you have, the more people come out.”

He added that a baseball field would create a growing cycle, inducing more and more people to use the park.

“If you get the parents to go to the park and see how beautiful it is, they’re going to keep coming back.”

Town Councilman Ed Ambrosino made it a point of coming to the night's presentation without props, as a way of illustrating not what's going to happen in Elmont, but what's already happened.

"I think people are tired of pictures, tired of billboards, tired of Powerpoint presentations," Ambrosino said. "People want to see a shovel in the ground and tangible motion on the field."

With that in mind, Ambrosino pointed to the ongoing rezoning of Hempstead Turnpike and the currently-in-litigation Argo Theater revitalization as evidence that Elmont was moving forward.

The Argo Theater project has earned itself a misleading moniker strictly because there's no theater involved — at least not anymore. Sitting on the site of a former movie theater is a dollar store. It's a site the Town of Hempstead would like to see turned into a supermarket, and the town believes the residents want to see that as well.

The current owner at the site has not interest in seeing his property forcibly changed, and is fighting the results of a blight study conducted last year by the town.

On the schools front, Elmont School District Superintendent Al Harper came and encouraged town residents to share their thoughts and ideas at one of the district's final budget meetings on March 15 at 7 p.m.

Elmont residents have a vested interest in helping the district save money, as the school's budget directly impacts the local school tax levy.