Hewlett's Isaiah Moultrie gets approval for Inwood 48-unit residential building

Inwood native and now Hewlett resident Isaiah Moultrie’s vision of constructing a residential building for military veterans, first responders and non-military families is set to become a reality after the Town of Hempstead Board of Appeals has granted his building permit at the June 28 hearing.

“I’m overjoyed and I am thankful to the Town of Hempstead and the leaders that they saw fit to allow this project to continue,” he said. “This is a good day for Inwood.”

The proposed five-story, 48-unit residential building near the Inwood Long Island Rail Road station, at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Russell Place, was a project that Moultrie’s father, Rev. Isaiah Moultrie Sr., first envisioned.

Moultrie Sr., a retired Marine, was interested in creating housing that caters to law enforcement and emergency because they had a difficult time finding housing when they came out of the military.

Jumping in for his father to make this dream of the family a reality, the project was initially approved by the Board of Appeals in 2020 but was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a discrepancy in the paperwork originally filed.

The discrepancy was in regard to the proposed basement that the Moultrie family’s attorney, Christian Browne, said was in the original paperwork. He noted that the town claimed the basement was not part of the original paperwork but said it was just not calculated into the floor area ratio number.

Before the discrepancy, the project was expected to start construction last fall. Then on Sept. 20, the town board approved a six-month moratorium on the construction of homes and apartments in town-created Business Overlay and Transit Oriented Development district in North Lawrence and Inwood.

Browne previously told the Herald that if the Board of Appeals exempted Moultrie’s project from the moratorium, he and his client would re-apply using a different calculation.

“We are pleased the Board of Appeals re-approved the project and we look forward to commencing construction,” Browne wrote in an email.

Town code allows buildings with single-family units to be no taller than three stories and Moultrie gained the support of County Executive Bruce Blakeman to secure a zoning change for the project when he was the area’s town councilman. Blakeman was the primary advocate for the Business Overlay and Transit Oriented Development district.

Moultrie said he was appreciative of Blakeman for believing in the project.

“Thanks to Bruce Blakeman for putting this up for the zoning change,” he said. “We are really ready to rock and roll.”

The project has earned the support of many Inwood neighbors that filled the meeting room on June 28. One was Inwood Civic Association chairman and business owner Michael Gliner.

“By the way they (Hempstead Town Board) spoke, we kind of knew it was going to get approved,” he said. “There’s going to be a new building and they said they will fix that road. This is an upgrade.”

Moultrie said he hopes to begin construction in September.