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Mostly Cloudy Hayes, NAACP head, is leaving city
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As NAACP president, a position she has held for two years, Hayes said she has pressed hard on a number of issues, primarily concerning the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Center and helping North Park parents become more involved in their children's education.
One issue drawing debate is the city's plan to bring upscale development to the bayfront north of Pine Street, which neighborhood activists have warned would lead to gentrification. Several residents of the Pine Town Houses, an affordable housing complex near the proposed development site, have been notified by the ownership that it may seek to begin charging market rents in some units in the coming years.
Rumors are circulating that the proposed rent increases may be related to the upscale development of the bayfront. Hayes said she would like to see more affordable housing built with Community Development Block Grants. At one point, she said, the city had a CDBG fund of $1 million, but she added that she wasn't thrilled with the way it was used. "What I saw come out of that was a lot of fences," Hayes said.
Assistant City Manager Robert Piazza, however, said he disagreed with Hayes's characterization of how the city spends its community development money. "The City of Long Beach receives approximately $850,000 annually in Community Development Block Grant Funds," Piazza said. "It uses that money to accomplish a variety of objectives, of which affordable housing is one of them. Other objectives include providing funds for public safety, and for the betterment of the community in general.
"Affordable Housing is something that can be accomplished through community development funds," Piazza continued. "However, the availability of space to accomplish this affordable housing is quite limited. The city is currently working with Nassau County, with whom it jointly has an interest in a property on East Market Street, to develop such an affordable house."
The NAACP was preparing for new leadership this December anyway, when Hayes's term as president ends, said Mary Lou Monahan, chairwoman of the group's education committee. Monahan said that Hayes brought unique talents to the organization that make her indispensable. "I will miss her like crazy," Monahan said. "She's just so dynamic and full of energy that she's going to be very hard to replace."
Hayes is also a member of the city's Planning Advisory Board. She said that like her commitments to the NAACP, she expects she will be able to at least finish her term on the board. "If I can stay on it, I would like to," she said. "There's no representation for the North Park area." Damian Sciano, the board's chairman, said he also feels that Hayes's continued participation is necessary. "Lisa Hayes was a tremendous asset to the Planning Advisory Board both as an East End resident and president of the NAACP who is very actively involved in the North Park community," Sciano said.
He added said that Hayes's input regarding bayfront redevelopment is particularly important.
Hayes said she believes many area residents are opposed to allowing any corporate entity into North Park that would further cause homeowners' costs to rise. "I don't know anyone that's in favor of [bayfront redevelopment]," she said. "I think that the residents are extremely concerned about their future."
Although she is leaving the city, Hayes said that regardless of the committees she oversees or advises, her connections to the area will remain strong. "I don't think that I'm going to give up Long Beach altogether," she said. "I have friends that live here. My kids have friends that they've made in school here. Everything that I'm involved in is really in Long Beach. I see so much opportunity in Long Beach, and I know that positive change is imminent and the changes are close."
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
One issue drawing debate is the city's plan to bring upscale development to the bayfront north of Pine Street, which neighborhood activists have warned would lead to gentrification. Several residents of the Pine Town Houses, an affordable housing complex near the proposed development site, have been notified by the ownership that it may seek to begin charging market rents in some units in the coming years.
Rumors are circulating that the proposed rent increases may be related to the upscale development of the bayfront. Hayes said she would like to see more affordable housing built with Community Development Block Grants. At one point, she said, the city had a CDBG fund of $1 million, but she added that she wasn't thrilled with the way it was used. "What I saw come out of that was a lot of fences," Hayes said.
Assistant City Manager Robert Piazza, however, said he disagreed with Hayes's characterization of how the city spends its community development money. "The City of Long Beach receives approximately $850,000 annually in Community Development Block Grant Funds," Piazza said. "It uses that money to accomplish a variety of objectives, of which affordable housing is one of them. Other objectives include providing funds for public safety, and for the betterment of the community in general.
"Affordable Housing is something that can be accomplished through community development funds," Piazza continued. "However, the availability of space to accomplish this affordable housing is quite limited. The city is currently working with Nassau County, with whom it jointly has an interest in a property on East Market Street, to develop such an affordable house."
Hayes is also a member of the city's Planning Advisory Board. She said that like her commitments to the NAACP, she expects she will be able to at least finish her term on the board. "If I can stay on it, I would like to," she said. "There's no representation for the North Park area." Damian Sciano, the board's chairman, said he also feels that Hayes's continued participation is necessary. "Lisa Hayes was a tremendous asset to the Planning Advisory Board both as an East End resident and president of the NAACP who is very actively involved in the North Park community," Sciano said.
He added said that Hayes's input regarding bayfront redevelopment is particularly important.
Hayes said she believes many area residents are opposed to allowing any corporate entity into North Park that would further cause homeowners' costs to rise. "I don't know anyone that's in favor of [bayfront redevelopment]," she said. "I think that the residents are extremely concerned about their future."
Although she is leaving the city, Hayes said that regardless of the committees she oversees or advises, her connections to the area will remain strong. "I don't think that I'm going to give up Long Beach altogether," she said. "I have friends that live here. My kids have friends that they've made in school here. Everything that I'm involved in is really in Long Beach. I see so much opportunity in Long Beach, and I know that positive change is imminent and the changes are close."
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
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