Editorial: Oyster Bay land sale deserves approval
The sale of the Town of Oyster Bay public works complex, adjacent to the former Cerro Wire site, is up for a vote Tuesday. Credit: Newsday, 2004 / Karen Wiles Stabile
The issue that's been filling up mailboxes in the Town of Oyster Bay and jamming airwaves islandwide finally comes to the polls Tuesday. Voters must decide whether the town should accept $32.5 million for public works land from a consortium of developers anxious to stop the Taubman Centers Inc. mall proposal on the old Cerro Wire factory parcel next door.
The land sale should be approved: The town needs the money, and the process of picking Oyster Bay Realty to bid for it was legal. But the town should also let Taubman build a mall on the Cerro Wire land.
It's too bad Oyster Bay's leaders still resist that change, which might have warded off the financial crisis and cash crunch the town now faces. So vote yes for the land sale -- and hope it will cultivates a postive atmosphere in the town for future growth.
