Piazza project becomes election issue

Michael Puntillo's project, and the approval process it just cleared, has become an election-year flash point.

But he still expects his $60 million Village Piazza to revive downtown Glen Cove. He has moved on from public hearing arguments to practical matters such as securing financing and finalizing construction plans.

He now expects the mixed-use development to break ground by early next year, with completion 18 months after that.

"It was very frustrating," he said of resident opposition that at meetings drowned out business and building association support. "I'm filling a need. I know it's going to create jobs and generate more taxes than the city's bringing in now."

Glen Cove's planning board, by 4-3 vote, approved the Piazza special use permit and site plan application Aug. 10. Puntillo plans 142 apartments and 27,632 square feet of retail space among four four- or five-floor buildings near City Hall.

The project centers on a large Italian-style public plaza, but its vision is complicated by three single-story office buildings in the middle of the site that Puntillo hasn't acquired. Planning board members who voted against the project voiced concern about the effect on the plaza.

Puntillo owns the remainder of the site known as old Village Square and, even as negotiations continue, he said he'd build around the holdouts if necessary.

"We'll peacefully coexist," he said.

City Councilman Nick DiLeo owns one of the buildings and runs an insurance agency from it.

The insurance broker next door, Bob Sztorc, alleged at a June hearing that officials implied they'd seize his property if he didn't sell.

Mayor Ralph Suozzi has repeatedly denied he's discussed eminent domain.

Project opponents are scrutinizing the approval process.

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Meli questioned the approval being made by planning board members serving beyond the three-year terms allowed by city charter.

He also challenged the council's recommendations to the board being added as a last-minute resolution in May, without public notice.

Other opponents chided the planning board for conflicting statements about whether they could actually approve the project, or if they only make recommendations.

Piazza supporters, however, said politics have clouded the bigger picture: that even with the three buildings in the middle, existing public space will be doubled and apartments meant for medical graduate students will infuse downtown with young residents.

"I don't think you'll ever please the people that don't want a vibrant downtown," said Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, a smart-growth group. "But if the mission is to revitalize the area, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than this."