Many skeptical of plan to revitalize New Cassel

THE VISION

A redeveloped Prospect Avenue to anchor a revitalized New Cassel downtown. High-quality affordable housing, a main street free from high-speed traffic. A full-service supermarket, bank and pharmacy that residents can walk to. The hamlet has never had such amenities before.

During community meetings, residents "wanted a nice, well-lit, safe corridor with landscaping and art," said North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, who was a town attorney when the meetings took place.

OBSTACLES

Many were skeptical of the scope and promises associated with the project, said Mary Ann Allison, an assistant professor at Hofstra who authored a 2008 study on revitalizing New Cassel. With such a large project, buy-in takes a lot of time and residents get impatient, Allison said. "It's also vulnerable to things like recession," she said. For example, the downturn in the economy prevented prospective condo owners from obtaining mortgages, said Viviana Russell, a New Cassel resident and North Hempstead Town councilwoman.

The renewal plan was delayed by a corruption scandal in the Town of North Hempstead building department and by problems with a contractor who removed twice as much soil as permitted from the foundation of a building under construction on Prospect Avenue. That put the building in danger of sinking and led to a stop-work order in July 2006. A key developer, Ranjan Batheja, ran into financial troubles and couldn't obtain additional funding to complete his projects. Still, the project proceeded.

Union complaints also contributed to about a year of delays, Kaiman said. While most workers were union members, some property owners chose nonunion contractors, he said.

THE PROGRESS

Construction is constant along Prospect, where there are plans to reduce traffic to one lane in each direction, install lighting and build pocket parks. A building at 821 Prospect, with 14 apartments and retail space - including a pharmacy - is complete. Also finished is a building on Prospect and Union Avenue that has 67 occupied rental units and is slated to include a dentist, day care, beauty salon and restaurant. Two other buildings on Union are also complete.

A building on the south side of Prospect near Grand Avenue, with 26 apartments, retail space and a bank, is expected to be complete next month. Two other buildings are near completion and another has yet to begin construction. A state-of-the-art community center on Broadway and Garden Street will go out for bid in the coming weeks.

Faith-based organizations - New Cassel is home to about 50 churches - have been the driving force for revitalizing the area. Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization Corporation, under the leadership of Bishop Lionel Harvey of the First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury, has been active in giving the community a voice.