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Ken's impressions of March 25th:
I was struck by how receptive to our comments the TOH Board members were, and
how positively they seem to feel about the Lighthouse. I came away with the
strong impression that the LH will ultimately be approved in some form.
With that said, the Town Attorney, did identify for us what are likely to be the
issues that the Board and the Lighthouse folks will have to work out. One is
the housing mix. The Lighthouse folks want high-end condos, while the Board
prefers senior and next-gen housing. There's no denying that the Island needs
more of the latter. However, I can also perfectly understand, given the sports
and entertainment focus of the LH, why the planners aren't keen on senior
housing. (I'm not taking a position here, just saying that I can see both
sides...)
Another issue will be the proposed tower(s). Charles Wang has said publicly
that he's determined that when the project is done, those fugly smokestacks
visible from the Meadowbrook will *not* be the tallest structures on Long
Island. The town attorney said Board members are concerned that towers would
look like Lefrak City. That strikes me as a stretch. However, I do think the
Lighthouse should provide more detailed architectural proposals so that the Town
can see that something distinctive and attractive is going to be built.
The third big issue will be transportation. The town attorney mentioned that
the TOH Board will hold public hearings on the Lighthouse, and that there are
several possibilities that the town and the Lighthouse have discussed. He also
stated the obvious, namely, that transportation will be a big issue for locals
who come to the hearings to question/object to the project. I think a big
contribution we can make, if we want to effectively support the Lighthouse, is
to challenge both sides on this question before those hearings take place. So
far (IMHO), we've only heard this discussed in vague terms. We will not be able
to win over the NIMBYs unless we have something intelligent and specific to say
about this.
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