Face off at Belmont Park

Hockey fans, residents offer competing visions of development

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To inform a request for proposals that will determine the fate of 500 acres slated for development at Belmont Park, five state lawmakers listened for nearly two and a half hours on July 10 at the Elmont Memorial Library as community members shared their visions.

“It’s been 10 years in the trenches, and all we want is something done with the Belmont project,” Joyce Stowe, of Elmont, told State Senators Todd Kaminsky, Leroy Comrie and Elaine Phillips, Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Assemblyman Clyde Vanel.

The proposal process the communities have been working on with the Empire State Development department has been going on for years, with proposals for plans such as a 21,000-seat soccer stadium, a casino, and retail space with anchor stores being considered and then taken off the table. From January 2016 to April 2017, there was talk of a proposal period opening up again to consider serious bidders, but that idea was rejected.

“We are continuing to finalize an RFP for the site, which will be released when it’s ready,” Amy Varghese, the press secretary for Empire State Development, said in a statement.

Some have said they would like the land to remain vacant, while hockey fans hope the park will be the site of a new arena that will host the New York Islanders, whose future at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn has become uncertain. According to published reports, the deadline to renegotiate the team’s contract with the Brooklyn arena looms at the end of this year. Depending on whether the team or Barclays terminates the deal, the Islanders would need a new home after the 2017-18 or 2018-19 season, and some Nassau County legislators favor their return to the Nassau Coliseum.

Elmont resident Bruce Schneider, who is in favor of a new hockey arena at Belmont Park, said he believed that Elmont and its school district would benefit from an increase in local taxes. “We know that Nassau and Elmont can use the revenue,” he said.

Kim Crail, treasurer of the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce, disagreed with the assertion that an arena would help the area prosper. “We only need to look at Uniondale and Westbury, surrounding the Nassau Coliseum, to see how these stadiums impact areas economically, and it’s not positive,” Crail said, adding that the best option would be to leave the land at Belmont undeveloped.

Other proposals include a new community center and a technology business “incubator,” where children could learn about high-tech jobs. There is also a proposal for more restaurants and a hotel, in accordance with the Elmont Vision Plan for the hamlet’s downtown. Those who favor a hotel argue that it would create more good-paying jobs for the community. “A hotel manager does not make minimum wage,” Elmont resident Sondra Smith said.

The prospect of an Islanders arena in the neighborhood has been, and remains, a hockey fan’s dream. Peter Mastrota, the assistant coach for the Valley Stream Hockey League, told the Herald last month that he would like the Islanders to return to the area (even though he’s a Rangers fan). “We’re certainly interested,” he said. “We’d love to see hockey come back to Long Island.”

Mastrota said that the Islanders’ return to the area might help him inspire young hockey fans — a sentiment that was echoed by several others at the hearing, both vocally, as fans took turns at the microphone, and visually, with dozens of people sporting Islanders jerseys.

Sean Hood, of Island Park, told the elected officials that he used to have pride in his community, but lost that pride when the Islanders moved to Brooklyn. “We need to bring that pride back to Nassau County and Elmont,” Hood said. “The next generation needs something here for hockey too.”

Solages, a Democrat from Elmont, said she learned from the session that community members want more access to the Long Island Rail Road, which currently runs only when there is horseracing at the park — and a community center.

“It was clear that the community wants the Empire State Development Company to draft an unbiased, fair and transparent request for proposal for the redevelopment of Belmont Park,” Solages said in a statement. “An RFP specifically tailored to a particular developer is a disservice to the local community and limits the negotiation process.”

Despite the range of ideas for the land, Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach, said that it was helpful to hear community members’ ideas, and that it was time to draft an RFP.

“You know, I think people are eager to have real proposals in front of them so they can make educated decisions,” he said, “and I think we’ve got to get this show on the road.”