Regional council eyes Syosset mall plan

The Long Island Regional Planning Council postponed action Tuesday on a request to recognize a proposed luxury mall in Syosset as a project of regional significance amid charges the project's developer was trying to do an "end-run" around Oyster Bay Town's rejection.

The delay -- with council members agreeing to revisit the request at its meeting next month after gathering more information -- came after more than an hourlong discussion that pitted the developer, Michigan-based Taubman Centers, against consultants for the town and an attorney representing civic groups opposing the proposed 750,000-square-foot mall on 39 acres on the former Cerro Wire property on Robbins Lane.

Bruce Heckman, vice president of Taubman Centers, said instead of continuing to "bang heads" with town officials, Taubman Centers decided to try to find "intermediaries here" to "see whether the region thought it was a plan that made sense."Heckman said the proposed mall would generate $9 million in tax revenue for Nassau County, $5 million for the Syosset school district, create 2,000 permanent jobs and 3,500 construction jobs, and did not require any government subsidies.

Two residents, who said they were not affiliated with any group, said the region needed such an economic boost.

"The infusion of tax dollars is huge," said Matthew Norton of Syosset, who added he represented a "silent majority" who favor the mall.

Another Syosset resident, Joyce Lenard said the project was "important for these times" of economic hardship.

The town's environmental consultants from Cashin, Spinelli & Ferretti, a construction management services group with offices in Hauppauge, said the developer hadn't submitted additional environmental information called for after a state appeals court in 2009 upheld the town's rejection of the mall over environmental impacts. A consultant, John Ellsworth, charged the developer had instead launched a "public relations campaign" to win support for the 15-year-old project in the face of the town's rejection.

Howard Avrutine, the attorney representing the civic groups, called Taubman's attempts to win the council's endorsement a "manipulation."

Hal Mayer, another of the town's consultants, said the council -- a bi-county advisory group made up of town supervisors, village mayors, and business and institutional leaders -- shouldn't allow Taubman to do an "end-run around this."

However, council vice chairman Paul Tonna said the council's mission was to take a regional approach to issues that at times may conflict with local governments.

"If we're going to wait for permission from a town, why are we here?" Tonna said. "We're supposed to vet this from a regional standpoint."