Good riddance to symbols of blight
Demolition begins on the Courtesy Hotel in West Hempstead Credit: Howard Schnapp
Sometimes, a rubble pile is a beautiful thing.
Take the start of demolition of the unlovely Courtesy Hotel in West Hempstead, known more for crime and drugs than for courtesy. And sometime this summer, the wrecking ball will take down the Plaza Theatre in East Patchogue, a leading symbol of blight.
The demise of the motel could have come sooner. The developer who will now build apartments there was ready to buy it years ago, but the town proposed an urban renewal plan for the area, which residents feared would delay its rebirth. As always on Long Island, the fight became one about density. The town wanted less than the developer did.
Ultimately, the town did the right thing: adopting a transit-oriented development zone, a land-use tool that should be more widely used on the Island. Now the project can finally go forward, even if it took longer than it should have.
In East Patchogue, the long-vacant theater had become an eyesore, blighting the whole neighborhood. The owner refused to sell or do something with it. So the Town of Brookhaven had to condemn it. Condemnation isn't always a good idea, but in this case it was. Now the town can smash it and find a developer to start rebuilding the neighborhood.
On Long Island, already so developed -- especially in Nassau -- a better future will depend on revitalizing blighted areas like these and helping communities rise renewed from the rubble.
