Comments on: ARRESTED DEVELOPMENTNo Lighthouse progress made by Hempstead

By: rvk43

rvk43 — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:35:39 +0000

CB,

Heard you on Francesa. Thanks for coming on and clearing things up. One question. Mike, prior to you coming on said that the Lighthouse project would not take off because of funding. When you came on you said that it was to be privately funded. So if it is not about money why is Kate and the Politicians in Hempstead so aginst it? The area around the coliseum is not all that nice. This will only make the are look better, bring in business, and boost her business.

By: jerry goldberg

jerry goldberg — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:28:22 +0000

I just sent my first note ever to a Town elected official urging that Ms. Murray publicly announce her commitment to the project and to keeping the Islanders here. The website is townofhempstead.org and I’m sure more emails of this nature can only help.

By: Brooks Simpson

Brooks Simpson — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:58:46 +0000

Joe … check your headlines.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:07:12 +0000

#160, I know you were drawing a comparison but my point is that there is no evidence that the voters/residents of the TOH are in anyway upset with how this is being handled.

By: Lee from Queens

Lee from Queens — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:42:15 +0000

I love the Islanders, but unfortunately I have to disagree with you all. The Lighthouse is a ridiculously far fetched project, and a logistical nightmare. Who is going to buy the 2,306 “luxury” condominiums Wang plans to build? Who considers the area between Uniondale and East Meadow “luxury”? How can you accomodate parking for 2,306 residences, an 18,000 seat arena, 1,000,000 sq ft of office space, and a 900 room hotel? It is impossible, and will never get done.

The logical solution here is to either

a) Scale back the project to include renovation of the arena, expansion of the hotel, and expansion of the commercial and retail space. Scrap the residential idea.

b) Move this project to the area around Belmont Park. Closer to the city, accessible directly by the LIRR, tons of space to build, and no conflicts between racing season and hockey season.

Lets be realistic here folks. The only chance we have of this team staying on Long Island is if this project is completely overhauled.

By: JayK

JayK — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:26:49 +0000

Wang is the second owner who was interested to a large degree in the real estate. The other was Milstein. The difference is that Milstein, when he couldn’t get his shovel into the ground in a week, stopped funding the club and walked away from it.

I think those who are moaning “why can’t we just rebuild the Coliseum” should just conclude that if two separate people were interested in developing the whole site that you need to accept that the inherent value of a rebuild is not in the arena, but in the whole acreage. Just redoing the Coliseum is not going to happen. It needs to be the whole project.

By: Brooks Simpson

Brooks Simpson — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:38:29 +0000

“But no, we have people from Florida, Arizona, and Queens threatening to mount campaigns against politicians of TOH.”

Joe, if you read my post (#10), I was simply offering an observation. The residents of the Town of Hempstead will have to decide whether they want to do something, as the TOH holds all Islanders fans hostage on this issue. It’s someone else’s campaign to mount. I’m simply drawing a comparison.

You’ll never know just how much you’ve lost until it’s gone … and all that’s left is a big parking lot and a problematic building. But, hey, if that’s what you want …

By: Erika

Erika — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:29:25 +0000

After all this talk, I feel that Charles has to start with building a new NVMC and then it will create demands for housing and shopping. It will also draw in more concerts and big acts to the Island. It seems he will NEVER do this! If he cared about the Isles, he would! It’s where he has to start with the LH –drawing fans and giving the team confidence. He needs to build a hockey sense or the whole Nassau Hub area will fall apart!! Please Charles–it’s the ONLY WAY YOU WILL BE TRUSTED AND MAKE MONEY!!

By: BringBackNyles

BringBackNyles — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:25:28 +0000

I support a new areana, but thats it. If Charles Wang wants a grand canal or a development or new hotel, he should fight his own battle. How much of a break on tickets will we get for protesting on his behalf?

I don’t think there is a chance of a significant protest, the isles have trouble getting people to show up for real games let alone a rally.

By: John

John — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:38:00 +0000

We need an owner who is committed to HOCKEY not REAL ESTATE. I’ve seen more commitment to the pipe dream than the real-life hockey team. The fans are sick of it and they will be sick of the new Lighthouse once they have to take out a loan to sit in the “cheap” seats. Wang is using the Islanders and their fans for his agenda. I personally will not fight for this project and I hope to see it fail.

By: JPinVA

JPinVA — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:55:37 +0000

Nick,
could you go over the “GREAT” part about the Lighthouse again. Some people must have missed it.
2 million more square feet of office space should bring a cure for type 1 diabetes in children, that’s a given…
I know the parade will probably start when those 300 luxury apartments are available.
Maybe it’s all those extra rooms at the Marriot?
I admit having a minor league baseball team in nassau County could be special… but it’s not gonna stop the military-Industrial complex from supporting genocide in some third world country inhabited by brown people.
I know you think I’m an ass… but not EVERYBODY is all Yahoo about cramming another 12 pounds of crap in the 2 pound bag that’s already holding 14 pounds.
maybe this conversation should be about hockey.

By: dommy

dommy — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:47:31 +0000

why don’t we just spend a few hundred dollars fixing some little things and start from there. maybe get a mcdonalds in there. yeah… start small. take some time. maybe hire a new mascot and ice girl. maybe some new security guards. fix a toilet. yeah… start small. have wang spend some more of his money so he can lose more. and then years from now build something like a fancy restaurant on the site… like a Chili’s and a few years after that maybe a motel 6. a little more after that. take our time and maybe wang could go broke. that bastard. how dare he lose all his money on the islanders. how dare he.