WANG: “DON’T BET AGAINST US ON LONG ISLAND”
Lighthouse group meets the Planning Commission
10:00 pm - The hearing on the Lighthouse Project before the Nassau County Planning Commission went from 6:30 – 8:45 tonight in the Legislative Building. I was unable to attend because of a prior engagement, but was able to catch up between the LDG’s Twitter page and Greg Logan’s blog.
Greg has a fun insight in his first post about the hall only being half-full despite a more convenient start time than most of the events. Tom Suozzi theorized the meh attendance was a result of advocates feeling positive about the recent comments and actions of the Town of Hempstead. We’ll see if the ToH is still letting the sunshine in on July 7.
Suozzi and Charles Wang gave presentations. There were more than a dozen speakers, all of them positive except for one resident straight out of Central Casting spewing the “It’s a land-grab”! card.
“Tonight’s meeting was for the commission to hear what the people are thinking,” LDC President Michael Picker told Point Blank tonight by telephone. “What they heard for two hours was support for the project from community leaders, union officials, veterans and citizens. It was an excellent meeting.”
In fact, NCPC chair Jeff Greenfield publicly stated, “We have to come together to move this project forward.”
Picker said that he and Hempstead Town attorney Joseph Ra have continued to meet since last Friday, another good sign.
For more details on the meeting, stay tuned to Greg’s late report and Bill Murphy’s for Newsday, plus Nick from Let There Be Lighthouse. My cynical take from reading and talking to witnesses about it is, if all that happened was everyone talking about how important the Lighthouse Project is…
1. What was truly accomplished at the meeting?
2. Why hasn’t the Lighthouse Project been approved yet?
The answer to the first is the Planning Commission has to approve the subdivisions before construction can begin. As for the second, we’ll know a lot more well before the end of the summer.
On the other hand, Wang’s continued participation in meetings over the last month big and small, crucial and mundane, has to be regarded optimistically. He closed his presentation by saying, “Don’t bet against us on Long Island.”
Comments on Lighthouse only in this thread. Coming soon: an updated Snojanks Scoreboard, including Top 5 mock draft from Point Blank and Pierre McGuire.
21 Responses to WANG: “DON’T BET AGAINST US ON LONG ISLAND”
Lighthouse group meets the Planning Commission
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Mr.Black says:
Thanks for the update Chris. Hopefully this is resolved soon and this team can get what is desperately needs.
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Generally things that sound too good to be true are. Don’t pop the champagne cork yet. There’s work to be done.
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Pete DeBenedetto says:
I’m getting the feeling that we’ll see the Lighthouse approved before we see a healthy DP.
I’ll take the Lighthouse.
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Savetheisles.webs.com says:
Let’s keep making progress , I love it
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Matt says:
keep the good news coming. this would be great if we can get this passed and ready to break ground next april.
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Brooks Simpson says:
Optimism? Sure. But don’t let up on the pressure. This is far from over. And just look to Phoenix for what might well happen if this doesn’t work … with bankruptcy as the get-out-of-obligations card. If Mr. Blackberry wins, and the Lighthouse stays a dream, guess what’s next.
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Glenn Pacitti says:
The Islanders have not drafted a player in the first round to score 20+ goals on the Islanders since…..1985: Derek King 13th overall.
The potential construction of the Lighthouse project in addition to the potential addition of John Taveras makes the next 30 days the most important time in Islanders Country.
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D-man says:
i knew the crowd would be sparse. give the people what they want and the pressure is off.
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So basically it all comes back down to the TOH again – even though last week Murray wanted the county to share the “Stress”.
Well it’s all back on her since the Nassau County Planning commission publicly said they are all for it.
Kate Murray is playing us Islander fans and she is winning. Once she gets re-elected she will do nothing to get this done.
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anthony c says:
If I still lived on LI, i’d still vote for Mcelroy. So whatever murray does right now don’t mean jack squat. Because like the old saying goes, “Actions, speak louder then words”.
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hyedray says:
After everything that has been said, and done during this entire process, it seems that things are progressing in a new direction with a spirit of cooperation. I am not 100% sold that the project will get done, but where 2 months ago there was little reason to be optimistic, today it seems like we can perhaps take a breath.
I think much credit goes to all of the fans, pols and the developers. The pressure put on Hempstead has had an impact. It did not hurt that the Dems put up a substantial candidate to run in November either.
I continue to hope that McElroy is the successful candidate come November. If this is the way ToH does business, then I feel sorry for the people of Hempstead. They deserve better.
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JayK says:
The fact that there is progress does seem to have taken away the feeling that we’ve all got to get to whatever meeting we can. I’ll be honest: I didn’t go, and felt guilty. A calmness has come over me in the last few weeks that could easily turn to apathy. It’s important that all of us — myself included — keep filling the meetings rooms. This is no how, no way a done deal. Last night’s weak attendance should be a wakeup call to all, including this writer!
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Joey303 says:
14 days 10 hours……..this has been killing me – with the first pick…..
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Its funny how many people could not make it to the meeting last night, but Im glad to hear that things went positively.
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ME says:
So there weren’t many people there last night. I am sure the weather had something to do with that. Anyway, does anyone know if Hempstead has asked to scale the project back at all and if the Lighthouse group has scaled it back or has any plans of scaling it back in the near future.
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art says:
No politician of either party or in any part of the government wants to be associated with this project going down especially in this economy. Look for a scaleded down version to be approved after an extension of the October deadline. Think of the clock being stopped after a strike deadline has passed.
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El Exigente says:
Brooks Simpson #7
Just remember that the Phoenix Coyotes play in a new arena surrounded by a complex eerily similar to the proposed Lighthouse and a lot of good that did for them. At the end of the day, it’s the product on the ice that counts. No one is going to spend their money to see a mediocre team, no matter how attractive a box it may be wrapped in.
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#19–I live in Arizona, so I just might have an idea of what’s going on here. The Westgate complex is not owned by the Coyotes; the Coyotes have to pay the city of Glendale for the free parking they offer fans; the arena is a good hour’s drive (in rush hour) from the fanbase in the East Valley. Those are key differences.
That said, if Mr. Blackberry and the present owner triumph in their “bankruptcy allows us what we want to do” ploy, watch out, Islanders fans.
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
Gotta just keep on keeping on … Charles Wang is right … we still have to make elected officials accountable … keep up the POSITIVE pressure on everyone. Lets not forget that it was Nassau Cty that held things up for years … so we really gotta keep our eyes on the puck with every aspect of getting this project approved.
This is unbelievable but I feel like it sounds too good to be true!