Bethpage-Tribune_1998-09-11

              VOL. 32 NO. 38 Sept. 11-17,1998 40 CENTS
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MR .-/MRS. J- L0VIS0L0
2 Carol Dr
Bethpage NY 11714-3202
YOUR OFFICIAL HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Serving the Communities of Bethpage, Island Trees, Seaford, Plainedge, Old Bethpage and Plainview
NAVY/GRUMMAN
RE-USE HEARING
On September 1,1998 a second re­use
hearing was held at the Bethpage
High School to elicit the public's
thought on what they would like to
see occupy the 100 plus acre Navy
owned Bethpage site. Nassau County
Planning consultant Allee, King,
Rosen & Flemming, along with its
team of specialists, presented three
alternatives for development based
on their experience and public input
from the public hearing held in
August. Dennis Mincieli, Project
Manager with Allee, King, Rosen &
Flemming asked the public to
comment on three draft alternatives.
Plan A suggests removing the south
warehouses to provide parking for the
existing building which yields 995,000
sq. feet of existing warehousing and
office space with possible conversion
of warehouse to office space. This
plan would place the property on the
tax roll quicker and create
approximately 1,296 jobs. Plan B, the
most dense plan, calls for
constructing a cluster of new office
buildings yielding 1,330,000 new sq.
ft. of office space and demolishing all
existing buildings. This plan estimates
6,800 jobs. This plan would take the
longest, estimated at ten years to
reach full development. Plan C would
remove all of the smaller warehouses
and maintain the existing warehouse
and office space and provide for a
three story 480,000 sq. ft. new office
building yielding approximately 3,438
jobs. This plan falls in between A and
B as far as time to implement. The
planners will include the public's input
coupled with all written suggestions
and prepare a re-use plan which will
be available for the public to further
comment on.
Dennis Mincieli explained that these
three alternatives represent
guidelines for development. It is
intended to incorporate the public's
input to date to develop this guideline
in order to prepare to market the
property. This is in the beginning
stages of developing a
comprehensive plan, but it will serve
to discourage uses that are not
desired by the community, such as a
mega mall. Presently the property is
still owned by the United States Navy
and contracted to Northrop
Grumman. This plan will also serve to
indicate to the Navy what use can be
expected. The property is in the
process of being transferred to
Nassau County due to the downsizing
of the defense industry in our area.
Many questions were raised as to
how can one choose A, B, or C at this
time, however it was explained the
importance isn't in choosing but
rather commenting, it is the
comments that will help the planners
develop a realistic plan which will
ultimately serve to market the
property. In addition, this is not the
end of the public process but rather
an effort to incorporate citizen
comment at this stage of the process.
For example, once the property is
marketed and a potential purchaser
responds, that purchaser's specific
plans would be subject to hearings.
But prior to reaching that point, the
Navy will hold a round of hearings
explaining the environmental
remediation process. And it is not
until this process is completed that a
suitable re-use plan is developed
which may be A, B, C or a
combination thereof with additions or
deletions based on the outcome of
those hearings.
Other questions involved the
environmental status of the property.
First it was explained that Nassau
County will not accept
environmentally unsound land. The
United States Navy and Northrop
Grumman have been funding the
environmental remediation of the
property which is which is monitored
by the DEC and EPA. The United
States Navy will be scheduling a
public hearing to explain its
remediation to date and into the
future. The environmental hearings
are the most important part of this
process and no transfer will take
place until after such hearings. This
comprehensive environmental
hearing will be scheduled for this fall.
In addition, the Bethpage water
district informed the audience that
they maintain strict testing standards
to ensure that our drinking water is
safe.
It was also suggested that athletic
fields are important to the community
and it was noted that McKay Field, an
approximately 8 acre park, is in the
process of being preserved. In
addition, the property is being studied
from a historical perspective as well.
(Continued on Page 10)
Hail j Hail
The Rain Was Here
On Monday , September 7,
Mother Nature fired a strength filled
punch at Long Island with a storm that
brought with it 40-50 mile per hour
winds, golf ball size hail, 2-4 inches of
rain and even tornados which report­edly
touched down in Great Neck and
right here in Bethpage. This storm
which was quite intense lasted all
about 20 minutes and Was caused by
a strong cold from which collided with
the sultry 90Q temps we were experi­encing.
It was that combination of
weather conditions that provided the
perfect climate for such violent
weather. Many towns were devas­tated
including Lynbrook which on
Monday declared a state of emer­gency
and in fact was not even able to
open up their schools for their first
day back. This storm was estimated to
have left over 115,000 homes with­out
power across Nassau and Suffolk
Counties. All in all this storm could
have been much worse. By Wednes­day,
nothing but some branches and
tree limbs were left and the storm also
left us with below average temps
which are reported not to get much
higher than 70Q all week long. A nice
fall touch for back to school.