Change is happening in Hicksville
Alpine Residential’s development on Newbridge Road will offer apartments, retail and restaurants near Hicksville’s Long Island Rail Road Station. Credit: Newsday/Randi F. Marshall
A decade ago, the Town of Oyster Bay applied for a $10 million state grant for the revitalization of downtown Hicksville — but lost the bid partly because some officials thought then-Supervisor John Venditto wasn’t fully on board.
A year later, new Supervisor Joseph Saladino applied, promising mixed-use development, including housing, and a walkable area around the Long Island Rail Road station. Saladino himself made the presentation — and won.
“I knew I wanted to build a legacy, I knew I wanted to make a big impact, I knew I wanted to bring change,” Saladino recalled. “The portion of Hicksville at the railroad station was the portion that needed a transformation. And they picked up on my enthusiasm and my drive and my will to create a transformation that would make an impact for generations to come.”
But many had their doubts. Transformation? In Oyster Bay?
The stops and starts that followed were, at times, frustrating and infuriating. There were battles with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over parking. There were debates over size, scope and height. There were delays, due to the pandemic, financing difficulties and the state’s permitting and approval processes. There were disappointments, like the collapsed plan to build housing at the former Sears property.
There were times when it seemed Oyster Bay might not deliver on the promised vibrant future at all.
No more. Progress has arrived in Hicksville. You see it, as new apartment buildings rise. You hear it, as the beeping of construction vehicles accompanies the rumble of LIRR trains. You feel it, as business owners and residents talk about their hamlet with excitement.
It’s a moment of potential, bursting from the land surrounding the LIRR tracks. It’s all coming: Shopping. Dining. Housing — including rental and ownership, at market-rate and affordable prices. On a recent morning, as commuters hustled through construction barriers to get to the train platform, workers were busily completing Alpine Residential’s complex at 99 Newbridge Rd., soon to open with 189 apartments, retail and restaurants. Beyond it sit two pieces of land along Jerusalem Avenue, now hosting a Bank of America building, a laundromat and a deli, still quiet, awaiting the groundbreaking for Cornerstone Hicksville, with its 106 apartments and more retail. Nearby, apartments and townhomes are coming to West Cherry Street, 104 units are rising along North Broadway, and more are planned for the former Chroma Paint facility.
Then there are the parks and green space, the plaza around the station, and pedestrian connectivity to it all.
Ultimately, the $10 million awarded in 2017 will become a $1 billion return on investment, Saladino said.
Over the years, the supervisor has learned lessons, from the importance of community engagement to the need to find compromise, remove state-level bureaucratic hurdles, and incentivize private investment in infrastructure upgrades. State investments in the LIRR station and Third Track helped, too.
Now, Saladino hopes to revitalize the hamlet of Oyster Bay and its waterfront; he expects to apply for a $5 million New York Forward grant next year.
But the supervisor’s attention remains on Hicksville. He anticipates a time in the not-so-distant future when Hicksville will be a destination, where people will come for an evening of music, dining and shopping, and where others will look to what was once known for its cross of major intersections, key transportation connections and massive shopping plazas as a place to call home.
“To put it all in one place is transformational — and that’s what we set out to create,” Saladino said.
Yes, transformational — in Oyster Bay. Now, there’s no doubt.
Columnist Randi F. Marshall’s opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
