A grant for Gibson project?

Village officials say they agree with residents of Gibson: The vacant storefronts on Gibson Boulevard are an eyesore and have to go.

The two empty buildings are on the site of a stalled housing project, a 39-unit apartment complex approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals in January 2010. But since developer Leonard Bleicher won that approval, there has been no change on the property, except for constant vandalism.

Valley Stream officials are trying to secure funding through the Nassau County Office of Housing and Intergovernmental Affairs for Bleicher to get the project started. Village Clerk Bob Barra said the developer could receive up to $50,000 per unit, meaning a total of nearly $2 million, to jump-start construction.

The money is made available by the federal Community Development Block Grant program, and is administered by Nassau County for targeted renewal projects. A meeting of the developer, village and Nassau County officials is scheduled for Friday morning.

Dominick Minerva Jr., Bleicher’s attorney, said they want to know more about the grant program, but are open to any possibilities. Minerva said that Bleicher does not want to sell the land, and that rumors that the property is on the market are untrue. “He wants to build it,” Minerva said of the apartment building, “but he needs funding for the construction.”

Project history

The housing project was initially approved in 2005 as a 35-unit condominium complex, but it was challenged in court by neighbors. Residents argued that the housing density was far beyond what village code allowed, and they also questioned the front and rear setbacks. Bleicher’s revised plan, which replaced condos with apartments, reflecting the changing housing market, increased the number of units but reduced the size of the building. It also increased the front setback to 25 feet from the curb from the initial four feet.

Mayor Ed Fare said the zoning board’s approval of the 39-unit building is still valid, and he wants to see Bleicher develop the property. That would be the quickest way to get the blighted buildings torn down. “You don’t want to go through the approval process again,” Fare said.

Barra noted that the property is directly behind the Gibson Long Island Rail Road station. When commuters arrive in Valley Stream, he said, they see those boarded-up stores, covered in blotches of black paint where graffiti has been painted over. “You can see that clear as a bell, right out of the side of the train,” Barra said.

Gibson resident James Giordano said he wants to see the blighted area improved sooner rather than later. “I’m all about getting that property developed,” he said. “I have no problem with it being housing.”

Giordano said that the project could have been built several years ago, but a small but vocal group of residents held up the development in court. Then the housing market collapsed.

He said he hopes the project will receive some grant money, if it is eligible, so construction can begin. “I can’t see a downside,” Giordano said of the proposed building. “We’ve seen the downside to having a blighted property there.”

Alan Schaecter, who lives on Gibson Boulevard across from the property and has long been opposed to the project, said he does not want to see any grant money used for it. Schaecter said he is concerned that if the project receives money from the Community Development Block Grant, it would become a low- to medium-income housing project, not the upscale development Bleicher initially proposed.

Schaecter said he would not have been opposed to the project if Bleicher’s building had been designed to meet village code all along. However, the project received several variances from the zoning board, including for the number of units. Schaecter contends that the site is zoned for only 23 units.

He added that he would prefer to see new stores built on the site.

Fare said that more stores are simply not a viable option for the property, and that his goal is to fill the existing vacant storefronts in other areas of Valley Stream. “There’s not enough revenue in the village for more stores,” he said. “The retail areas we have now are under capacity.”

Some residents have suggested leveling the buildings and turning the parcel into a parking lot, Barra said, adding that that would not be a good use of the land, and would bring no tax revenue to the village.

Additionally, officials say, the housing complex would bring about 80 new residents to Gibson who could support the businesses already there, about two blocks away, at Gibson Boulevard and Dubois Avenue. Fare said that if he could pick the ideal location for a 39-unit housing development in the village, it would be near stores and a railroad station.

Fare said that he stands behind the decision of the zoning board, which decided that 39 units was right for the property. The developer has a right to make money, he said, and needs to ensure that his construction costs, tax bills and building operating costs are covered. “You have to have a certain amount of revenue to make it profitable,” Fare said.

Several residents, including Giordano, have complained about the appearance of the property. Barra said that Bleicher has been responsive whenever village officials have asked him to correct a problem, has paid summonses for past code violations and continues to pay his taxes on the land.

Giordano said that although the buildings still look terrible, the graffiti is being cleaned up quickly and the weeds around the property have been removed. The village has been keeping the pressure on Bleicher, he said. “It’s never going to look great until they knock it down,” Giordano said.

If the project isn’t built, Fare said, village officials will explore other avenues to eliminate the blighted buildings. He said that the village could try to facilitate the sale of the property to another owner. The worst-case scenario, he said, would be an eminent-domain takeover of the property. Fare said he doesn’t want the village to end up in the real estate business.

“The bottom line is, this guy owns the property,” he said. “This guy has a plan.”