The Town Hall Experience

Yesterday I received an email regarding a Town Board meeting in Hempstead for the Lighthouse Project that was taking place on 4/8 at 10:30 at the Nathan LH Bennet Pavilion. Originally I responded with “You want me to get fired, don’t you.” But then I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it. We know how important this Lighthouse project is to the NY Islanders as well as to Nassau County and Long Island. I’ve personally never been to any sort of town meeting except the one in Babylon Village when I owned a bar and the little old ladies told me what color I could paint the outside of the building I was renting. That was Mickey Mouse compared to what I was about to experience.

I couldn’t bear to lie to the Big Angry Man. Um…. I CAN’T lie to the Big Angry Man, he can see right through me. So when I attempted to leave the house in my tweed suit and freshly straightened hair he stopped me at the sink. “My… don’t you look great today…. WHERE are you going?”

DAMN IT!!! Busted! I try to make light of the fact that I’m way overdressed for work.
“Well, I figured I’d wear this before I have to put it away for the season…. AND THERE’S A TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT THAT I WANT TO GO TO.” Yep, a five year old with their hand caught in the cookie jar. I batted my eyelashes, smiled coyly and bolted out the door.

“DON’T GET FIRED!!!” He yelled behind me.

Why did I really want to go? For the most part, sheer curiosity. Were there hundreds of people protesting the project? Did the legislative panel look with disdain upon this grandiose project? I needed to know. I watched the clock on my wall at the office, and bolted at 10:15 as map quest said it was a 21 minute ride. I made it in 19. I parked in the municipal lot and nervously asked the security guard if I needed any special permits there. He told me No, just that I needed to pay for parking at the machines on the corner. What? Ok… Parking meters have gone high tech, but I can’t even imagine how they would know that you paid. But I’m honest; I couldn’t NOT pay for parking.

The pavilion was impressive. I wondered if I needed to walk through a metal detector and was thinking about what was in my purse. Would they confiscate my portable corkscrew? Was the Mace still in the car? Am I going to get arrested for something I haven’t done? Yes, paranoia runs deep. I filled out a piece of paper with my name, address and email address and walked right in.

It was impressive, and Kate Murray was presiding. I sat down and immediately opened my notebook to start writing. I was tapped on the shoulder and handed an orange ribbon on a pin by non other than the original NYI 7th Man, Roger Farina.

I was surprised that all the people who chose to speak were in favor of the project as something that can grow not only the economy of but as a center of focus, pride and interest. Even the last speaker, Rosalie Norton, a resident of Hempstead for the past 40 odd years, commended the Reckson Corp for reaching out to the communities and civic associations getting their input for the project.

Kate Murray and the Hempstead town board will be taking the leading agency role in the project and they “stand ready, willing and able to expedite this process.” There was one interesting tidbit that I thought was a good thing, until I brought it to the attention of others.

Ms. Murray made the oral option to the developers that the coliseum renovation could be segregated from the other developments so that not everything needed to be done together, and the process for approval of that could be streamlined. Sounds good, no? Um… No. By segregating out the Coliseum renovation, they could hold Mr. Wan hostage for the balance of the development while tying him to the county.

Mr. Paul Lancey, who has been with Mr. Wang for more than two decades, didn’t speak at the meeting. His name was called. But he didn’t seem to be there at the right time. However, Mr. Wang did address the panel. He mentioned that he was pleased to work with the panel to get this process moving and of course, would have liked to busy right now with a team in the Playoffs. (Us too… seriously… us too.) Mr. Wang in a way discounted the segmentation of the arena application, which shows you where his head is at.

There will be a separate meeting regarding the transportation impact of the project as one of the speakers was unceremoniously shut down from discussing it as it was part of another case. But they kept going explaining the benefits of the project. Interesting fact was that the Lighthouse project would be paid for with only 5% of public money. That is the lowest of most other arena development costs. And the Lighthouse project is the last arena project in the NY area, and has become a bit of a laughing stock for the amount of time its taking. Even Boston with the much maligned Big Dig project was able to build a new arena for the Celtics and Bruins. Yet, here, in one of the richest counties in the city, our team plays in a less than stellar building under adverse conditions.

When I look at the renderings of the project, it reminds me of what I saw in Columbus OH. I wanted to move there. It was perfect. This could be more than perfect. This could be Nirvana. The other item that I didn’t know was that the project not only adds to the Nassau County tax base, but it’s also a Green Project.

By 11:26 am, the Lighthouse project was done being presented to the panel and it was my time to leave. It was a good meeting, but there are many questions. Where will the get the power to run this new expansion? A substation needs to be built. That will shut down Hempstead Tpke for months. Knowing that there are numerous consultants working on the details of this project, they are sure to leave no stone unturned or question unanswered. Our questions should only be…

WILL THEY BE ABLE TO BUILD IT BEFORE I FREAKIN DIE????