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I was wondering because from what we heard it is going to be another St. Paul's like disaster. Decisions made behind closed doors, lots of folks upset. Just wondering if this is from one point of view or truthful. Sounds like a mess from what we were told.
I was wondering because from what we heard it is going to be another St. Paul's like disaster. Decisions made behind closed doors, lots of folks upset. Just wondering if this is from one point of view or truthful. Sounds like a mess from what we were told.
It's a done deal. St. Paul's will be argued about till it collapses. This development is happening.
Owners of this site have been attempting to develop housing on it since Keyspan sold it 15 years ago. Garden City doesn’t make it easy to build housing. The developer still needs to get site plan approval and building permits from the village and likely construction financing from a bank. Let’s see if it all happens this time.
Our friends and family have indicated that there is a lot of bad blood over this project and accusations of backdoor negotiations and all the other usual things that go on when a community does not want what is proposed.
The Community Agreement method of governance in Garden City means that often little gets done so - yeah - who knows how long this will take. Of course people are unhappy, the traffic on that side of town is unbearable as it is, it's impossible to get in and out of Stewart School and of course parents are worried about how many (and let's be honest, what kind of) kids will be attending/burdening the schools.
From what I read in the GC News, this was all discussed at board meetings and public sessions were held. But just because you have your say doesn't mean things are gonna turn out how you like. Add to this the fact that GC is under the gun due to previous lawsuits for housing discrimination and you can see where this is all likely headed.
The Community Agreement method of governance in Garden City means that often little gets done so - yeah - who knows how long this will take. Of course people are unhappy, the traffic on that side of town is unbearable as it is, it's impossible to get in and out of Stewart School and of course parents are worried about how many (and let's be honest, what kind of) kids will be attending/burdening the schools.
From what I read in the GC News, this was all discussed at board meetings and public sessions were held. But just because you have your say doesn't mean things are gonna turn out how you like. Add to this the fact that GC is under the gun due to previous lawsuits for housing discrimination and you can see where this is all likely headed.
sooooo....does knowing all of that make GC a safer bet to buy in than Manhasset?
Current zoning at 555 Stewart permits uses including used car dealerships and car repair shops. If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d support the construction of apartment building charging monthly rents of $2,500 to $4,500. That would lock in a residential use for decades and preclude the construction of something worse.
Waiting for a consensus among neighbors who don’t own the land in question is poor land use governance. A 100% consensus across hundreds of people isn’t possible. Witness St. Paul’s, where 10 years ago, the country’s largest apartment developer offered a credible, self-financed plan to restore the building, a project the village could never complete on its own. The village trashed the proposal, citing lack of consensus. Today, the village hires endless streams of consultants, never reaches a consensus, and the building crumbles. Garden City will never see a deal like the one they rejected in 2008, and ultimately will be on the hook for demolishing the most prominent building in the village.
555 Stewart is a less prominent example. If an apartment building isn’t built, the land owner will abandon the vacant property, and ultimately it will become what it has been zoned for all along, a car lot.
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