1972-11-23

              . JOf Member « .
of the
|'|> OBSERVER A j
™ TTRPIIBRUIIMNEP W
vt'jf Group of 1* 1/
^& a Community *.' fr
^ \ l Newspapers l iK
3T
FARMINGDALE
J ^ 9
• c ue
274 " » « " f l My , . 7
AN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE VILLAGE OF FARMINGDALE
SERVING THE GREATER FARMINGDALE AREA, BETHPAGE AND MELVILLE
VOL. 10 NO. 14 Second Claw Postage has been paid at Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735
Published by THE OBSERVER. Inc., Box 146, Farmingdale, N. Y. Thursday, November 23,1972 • ISc
r
ANNIVERSARY: Bernard Alexander ( left) president of the Far­mingdale
Jewish Center Mrs. Fredy Fox and Herb Hartfield, co-chairmen
of the Annual Journal Dinner Dance, prepare to initiate
the candle lighting ceremony marking the fortieth anniversary of the
Center. Over 200 persons attended the gala affair held in the social
hall. Joseph Stern, a three time past president of the Center,
. delivered the anniversary address in which he recalled events
leading to the present status of the Jewish community of Far-mingdale.
Photo: Hank Schleichkorn
Village Signs Lease for
More RR Commuter Parking
m
Mayor John Hallahan and the
Board of Trustees of the Village
of Farmingdale have just signed
a lease agreement with the Long
Island Railroad which will
provide for approximately 90
additional parking spaces for
commuters. The land leased
from the Railroad is located on
the north side of the railroad
station.
The new parking field, which
will be strictly reserved for
commuters with parking per­mits,
should be available to the
public early next year. It is
contemplated that additional
metered parking will be provided
in the area south of the depot to
accommodate motorists who are
not classified as commuters.
Preparatory construction work
on the new parking field will have
to wait until the Long Island
Railroad has completed its grade
crossing paving.
According to Villaged Hall,
grade crossing work in the area is
scheduled to start this Monday,
November 27. As a result of this,
the Secatogue Avenue crossing
will be closed to vehicular traffic
on November 27 and Tuesday
November 28 between 8: 00 a. m.
and 4: 30 p. m. On Wednesday
November 29 and Thursday,
November 30, the Elizabeth
Street crossing will be closed at
the same time periods.
Traffic at both work areas will
be opened at nighttime. Extreme
caution is recommended at that
time since the unfinished
crossings are expected to be
• rough and bumpy. When com­pleted,
these crossings will have
a macadam- like finish which will
provide for a soft and noiseless
crossing.
There are other crossings
within the village limits, such as
the crossings at Main and Clinton
Streets, as well as the one on
Merritts Road. No information
has been received by Village Hall
when work on those crossings will
be carried out.
Lions Sharpen Claws for Jets
While must High School football players will be at liberty on
Thanksgiving to indulge themselves in all the joys of the holiday, the
Farmingdale Lions will have to hold oil lor at least one more day.
They are expected to sharpen their claws and whet their appetites
lor ( his Friday afternoon, when they face the Fast Meadow Jets lor
the inofficial County football championship at llolstra. They need
just one more win to make all their past sacrifices worth their while.
The community is proud of their football team and is anticipating
more joy to come this Friday. For a detailed preview of Friday's
game, see Hob Mule's column on the sports page.
Burke Pledges Open Ear to
Wishes of the Community
" A plan means very little if it does not take into account the people's wishes",
said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Burke. He, and his colleagues on
the Town Board, will now have to take into account a petition reportedly
signed by some 4,000 Farmingdale area residents and the personal ap­pearance
of some more 250 people, all united in opposition to the Town's
Master Plan proposal to build approx. 120 multi- family dwellings in the en­virons
of Farmingdale.
> \
Mr. Burke's statement, the personal ap­pearance
of the estimated 250 people, and the
petition with the 4,000 names all were part of a
meeting last Friday night at Farmingdale High
School, called by the Dolphin Green Civic
Association, Frances Manor Civic Association,
and Viceroy Civic Association. Purpose of this
gathering was the voicing of objections to the
proposal to erect multi- family dwellings on
Hempstead Turnpike and the intersection of Motor
Ave. and Merritts Road. On hand to listen to the
objections were Town Supervisor John Burke and
Town Cot ncilmen Gregory Carman and Lewis
Yevoli. i
Introduced by Bob Bielitz, president of the
Viceroy Civic Assn., John Burke pointed out that
this Master Plan and all the proposals contained
therein are thus far nothing more than a recom­mendation
for the future development of the town,
representing the judgement of a firm of
professional planning consultants.
As Burke pointed out, a number of intervening
steps will be taken before any kind of plan reaches
the stage where the Town Board is ready to con­sider
implementing legislation. One of the steps is
a report on the Master Plan which will be
prepared by the Town of Oyster Bay Planning
Advisory Board.
This board, made up of local residents, among
them from Farmingdale the Superintendent of
Schools Dr. Wm. Kinzler, has been conducting
hearings throughout the town to get the people's
reaction. Because, to repeat Burke's quote, " A
plan means very little if it does not take into ac­count
the people's wishes".
After a comprehensive series of hearings has
established public reaction, Burke stressed, the
Planning Advisory Board will forward its report to
the Town Board, which may or may not recom­mend
drastic revisions of the Master Plan. Only
after all of these facts are in, a position un­derscored
repeatedly by Councilman Carman,
will the Town Board propose enabling legislation.
This is now envisioned for next spring, with public
hearings again preceding any Town Board action.
The opposition to the planning consultant's
proposals is led by the Dolphin Green Civic
Association, whose president Frank Ranieri is
also a member of the Farmingdale School Board.
Primary aim of the criticism is the proposal to
rezone parcels on Hempstead Turnpike ( present
site of the Putt- Putt Golf Course) and Motor
Ave./ Merritts Road for multiple dwellings at a
density of ten units per acre, which would allow*
some 120 apartments. The civic associations'
counter proposals ask for a maximum of six units
per acre, while the petition handed to Burke by
Andrew Peck of the Dolphin group, who said it
contained 4,000 signatures, asks for zoning
ill lowing only one and two familv houses.
Among the reasons cited for the opposition to
multi- family buildings was their potential impact
on the school tax rate. A letter from the Far­mingdale
school district's chief of transportation,
Jerry Donolli, to superintendent Dr. Kinzler was
cited us evidence that multiple- family dwellings
such as apartment houses may be a burden to the i au
school tax rate rather than a blessing. In this letter
Donolli stated that the apartment houses in the
village of Farmingdale had received a court-ordered
decrease in their assessments of $ 253,320.
Contacted by the OBSERVER, Donolli added
that even though this decrease in assessment took
place, an additional apartment house complex in
the village of Farmingdale will reduce the loss in
assessed valuation to $ 176,000, and that never­theless
school tax revenue from apartment
buildings has risen by $ 3,000 over the comparable
figure of ' hree years ago due to the general in-
, crease in tax rates. All in all, Farmingdale's
1 apartment houses produce at present some
$ 200,000 more than it costs to educate the children
coming from those buildings. Donolli stressed that
» this is true primarily because the overwhelming
amount of those units consist of one bedroom
apartments.
During the discussion it became evident that
Burke's assertion of the town board's recep-tiveness
to the public's wishes was taken with
more than the proverbial one grain of salt. Back to
haunt the town fathers came the case of the
Merritts Road / Motor Ave. gas station which was
approved by the town board despite widespread
local opposition.
This parcel, now one of the two sites proposed
for multiple dwellings, was originally zoned for
neighborhood business ( Business F). At a public
hearing on December 23, 1969, an application was
presented to have this parcel rezoned for general
business ( Business G) and to approve a special
use permit for the construction of a gasoline
service station. Considerable opposition by local
residents was evident, bolstered by a petition to
reject both applications.
Matters rested for 14 months. Then, on
February 16, 1971, both applications were ap­proved
routinely. At this time Supervisor John
Burke, because of unfamiliarity with the case, as
he explained, abstained from a vote. All six
Councilmen voted in favor of both applications,
including Councilman Yevoli, who later proposed
a town law severely restricting the issuance of
permits for the construction of gas stations.
These permits were extended the first time on
May 5, 1972, retroactive to February 17, 1972, ( an
action which is now the subject of legal
proceedings against the town), this time with
Burke's as well as Yevoli's and the rest of the
Town Board's approval, and the second time on
September 15,1972, when Yvoli voted against it for-the
first time.
Taking note of his doubting audience, Burke
staled that he understands the residents' concern,
which he credited to the unchecked development
pattern of the past. And for exactly this • reason a
master plan is now being developed in close
cooperation with the public, he reiterated.
On this note the meeting came to an end. The
residents in attendance left without the promises
they'sought while the three Town Board mem­bers
returned to their homes with an appreciatiotf
of an opposition which is somewhat surprising in
Us vehemence in as much as Farmingdale is one
of the quieter and more placid areas in the Town of
Oyster Bay.