Coliseum ‘no’ vote draws mixed reactions

“We have the highest taxes here, and Nassau can’t even pay their bills,” said Carol Ann Sustad-Renz, a Lynbrook native, reacting to county voters’ rejection on Aug. 1 of a proposal to borrow $400 million to build a new arena and minor league baseball stadium at the site of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. “… [T]he county is broke, but yet they would have found the money somewhere or somehow — yes, on the backs of us taxpayers.”

The controversial effort failed by an overwhelming margin — fewer than 67,000 voters supported it, and nearly 89,000 opposed it. Sustad-Renz said that a major overhaul of the property would have cost taxpayers already grappling with high bills too much. “I always wondered why they just didn’t do a major overhaul,” she said, “and you know the cost would have been much more than they originally said.”

The New York Islanders’ lease at the Coliseum expires in 2015, and the team could leave if a new arena isn’t built, owner Charles Wang said before the vote.

But County Executive Ed Mangano vowed to explore other options for revamping the property and keeping the Islanders. Mangano said that he is seeking proposals to redevelop the 77 acres surrounding the 42-year-old Coliseum, according to an Aug. 2 press release from his office. All parties with privately financed proposals — which must address job creation, quality of life and revenue, and should complement existing recreational, sporting and commercial assets at Eisenhower Park, Mitchel Field and Museum Row — were asked to submit their proposals by Friday.

“The time is now to explore a new path for economic development opportunities and job growth at the site of Nassau Coliseum,” Mangano said.

In Lynbrook and East Rockaway, however, opinions seemed to be mixed.

“The people have spoken, and I think they made the right decision,” said Bill Gaylor, owner of Lyn Gift Shop and president of the village’s Chamber of Commerce. “Personally, as a business owner, I was not in favor of it,” Gaylor, a Republican, said of the proposal, though he added that he thinks the Islanders should stay in New York. “I think [the developers] can go back to the table and come up with a better idea, and have the team stay.”