Developer pushes plan for Syosset mall

A long-stalled luxury mall in Syosset should be part of a regional economic development plan, the development company said Tuesday.

Seeking to build a "regional consensus," Bruce Heckman, vice president of Michigan-based Taubman Properties, pitched the plan for the Mall at Oyster Bay to the Long Island Regional Planning Council.

"We would like to make sure it's integrated in the planning for all of Long Island to see," Heckman said afterward.

Taubman wants to have "an open and full dialogue, so that everybody can evaluate it, not just . . . a couple of people in a backroom," he said.

The 750,000-square-foot mall off the Long Island Expressway has been proposed for 15 years, but the project has run into resistance from civic and community groups over traffic, housing values and other concerns.

A state appeals court in 2009 upheld the Town of Oyster Bay's rejection of the $500 million development over environmental impacts.

Taubman has not submitted a revised environmental plan, with the company seeking to build broader support instead. During Tuesday's meeting, Heckman asked the planning council to endorse the project as "regionally significant," a designation based on a number of factors, including capital costs and job creation.

Before taking an advisory vote, however, the council plans to invite town officials and other project opponents to voice their concerns.

Council chairman John Cameron, whose engineering firm has worked with Taubman, recused himself from the discussion.

Vice chairman Paul Tonna voiced his support on economic grounds, citing the developer's claims that the project would create 3,500 construction jobs and 2,000 full-time mall jobs.

Todd Fabricant, chairman of a coalition of 32 local groups opposed to the mall, said a protest rally is planned for Sunday at the development site. "The community is adamant; it is against this project," he said.

Fabricant said his group backs an alternative development plan -- with senior and affordable housing, a hotel and some retail.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto said in a statement that he welcomed further dialogue with the developer, but if the project isn't significantly altered, "I doubt seriously it will be productive."