Westbury's actions addressed key issues
World War II veterans and family members at a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony Tuesday on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, in Honolulu. Credit: AP/Elias Funez
Westbury's advance action addresses key issues
The Westbury Village Board and I agree, for the most part, with your editorial "IDAs must raise bar for tax breaks" [Dec. 7]. That is why, in our transit-oriented development code (adopted in 2019), or discussions with the developer with respect to the property you cited, we: 1) Insisted on a payment- in-lieu-of-taxes term of no longer than 20 years (not the 25-30 proposed); 2) require substantial community benefits for increased density and building heights, including more than 10% affordable units and a regionally low affordability test; 3) codified a host community payment, effectively reducing the impact of the PILOT on the community; and 4) required PILOT payments never be less than the current taxes on the property.
As a result of the recently approved PILOT that you referenced, our community will realize an uplift of a blighted property at a former industrial site and, right off the bat, significantly higher revenue under the PILOT than the taxes currently generated by the property. The school district will be the main beneficiary of that increased revenue as the average school district PILOT portion will be approximately $277,000 annually, whereas today the property produces around $61,000 annually for the district. Importantly, we project very few additional school-aged children generated by the development.
Unfortunately, as the editorial pointed out, the region and its cost structure dictate this kind of relief, but we, as a board, have taken a measured approach to make sure that PILOT relief granted on our projects is reasonable and represents a fair balance of interests.
Peter I. Cavallaro, Westbury
The writer is mayor of the Village of Westbury.
We must be worthy of Dec. 7 sacrifices
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto wrote in his diary: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" ["Recalling that day of infamy," News, Dec. 7].
As we remember and mourn those lost to us on Dec. 7, 1941, let us honor their memory by filling ourselves with a resolve to be the America worthy of their sacrifice.
Ed Weinert, Melville
