Town OKs rezoning, clears hurdle for New Cassel development plan
An artist rendering shows the proposed mixed-use building at Prospect and Brooklyn avenues in New Cassel. It would include senior housing and a medical office. Credit: Euroamerican Funding Group LLC
A developer’s plans to build a three-floor mixed use building in the hamlet of New Cassel are progressing, with the North Hempstead Town Board approving a rezoning to allow construction.
The nearly 12,000-square-foot building on the northwest corner of Prospect and Brooklyn avenues is to house a medical office and credit union on the first floor, and 10 one-bedroom senior housing units on the top two floors.
Attorney Kathleen Deegan Dickson of Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP said the developer, Euroamerican Funding Group LLC of Chappaqua in Westchester County, envisioned a “vibrant development” that would “fit squarely” into the community and bring underrepresented commercial uses to the area.
“It’s designed to fit very well and be complementary in this community,” Deegan Dickson said at the board meeting.
New Cassel residents at a Jan. 30 public hearing voiced dismay at the plans, saying the hamlet had more pressing needs than another development.
What the area needed most was not more senior housing, but more affordable workforce housing for younger generations, said Robin Bolling, of New Cassel.
“To keep catering to our senior population, we are never going to have any young people coming back to pour into our community,” Bolling said.
The median age of the hamlet’s residents is 32, according to the 2016 U.S. Census American Community Survey. The median age in Nassau County is about 41.
North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Viviana Russell responded that the hamlet had many workforce apartments, and she wasn’t hearing of a need for more.
The board voted 7-0 to approve the rezoning from residential to business.
Edwin Benitez, 26, of New Cassel, said that while the proposed building sounded “beautiful,” it should not be the first priority to revitalize the community.
“I believe this is a great plan and a great idea, but not for our community. Our community needs a lot more than making it look fancy but really being otherwise,” Benitez said. “Building something right now should be the last thing on our minds.”
The development is to be built on three lots previously owned by the North Hempstead Community Development Agency that are to be sold to Euroamerican for $450,000. The town board is scheduled to vote to finalize the sale at its Feb. 27 meeting.
Before receiving a building permit, the developer will need to request variances for lot size, building setbacks and parking space dimensions at the Mar. 7 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, town spokeswoman Carole Trottere said.
Construction is to begin shortly after permits are issued and take about six to nine months, Deegan Dickson said.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
