Hempstead meets to discuss revitalization

More than 200 concerned Hempstead Village residents attended a special meeting Tuesday to express their opinions about what should be included in the community benefits agreement related to the village's $2 billion plan to revitalize its downtown.

Community activists and residents demanded that the agreement between the village and the developers incorporate living-wage jobs, contracts for local businesses, and affordable housing for local residents.

Residents also called for crime to be targeted, educational improvements and a recreation center.

"It doesn't matter what we are developing, if we don't make this area safe, nobody is going to come," village resident Corey Pegues said.

The formal agreement is being crafted by a 29-member board appointed by village Mayor Wayne J. Hall.

The group's second meeting will be held Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. in Kennedy Park's meeting room, on 335 Greenwich St. in Hempstead.

"Our purpose is to craft a binding enforceable contract that will encompass the needs of the community of the Village of Hempstead," board chairman Al Forde said at the meeting, "so that ultimately the present residents are included in the vast undertaking that is slated to take place in the near feature."

The redevelopment plan, led by master developer Renaissance Downtowns along with UrbanAmerica Advisors, offers a combination of condominiums, co-ops and rental apartments accommodating various income levels.

It also includes a hotel, shops, open spaces, parking and entertainment.

A combination of federal and state grants and mainly private investment will fund the 10-year project, developers and village officials have said.

The project is expected to create more than 3,500 permanent jobs and 10,000 construction jobs.

Village officials and the developers have said that a portion of those jobs would go to local residents.

The village has a 9.5 percent unemployment rate, according to the latest state Department of Labor statistics.

The village board approved last month a downtown overlay zone that divides the downtown into four districts: hospitality and entertainment, transit, commercial transition (smaller commercial buildings with some housing) and downtown edge (largely residential). Under the approved zoning code, a community benefits agreement must be in place before building permits would be issued, developers and village officials have said.

"I want whatever is approved, not to be watered down," said Donald Monti, president of Renaissance Downtowns.

The board also approved a supplementary environmental impact study in June that looked into traffic, parking, and air and stormwater management issues in the village. The master developer agreement also gives the developer the option to purchase village properties, predominantly underused parking lots, in the downtown area.

"I don't believe in a monopoly," resident Caprice Rinessaid. "To allow one developer to buy all this land is wrong."Some residents said they worry that the project would displace small businesses, as well as lead to current apartment buildings being converted into tall luxury condos and minority residents being pushed out.

Others said they worried the downtown might end up looking like New York City.

"It's time to get something on paper," Dennis Jones, second vice president of the New Hempstead Democratic Club, said after the meeting. "They need to create a draft agreement that the community could review."