Bethpage-Tribune_1966-10-20

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Serving Bethpage - Old Bethpage - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford
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VOL. 1 NO. 3 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1966 10$ per copy
OYSTER BAY BOARD
HEEDS VOICE OF PEOPLE
Plainedge Residents
Oppose Downzoning
Artist's sketch shows proposed addition to Bethpage High School. Vote on
bond issue is Saturday October 22 between 12 noon and 10 P. M.
Fight Cancer
With Holiday
Greeting Cards
An increasing number of in­dividuals
and firms are request­ing
Holiday Greeting Cards for
mailing to friends or to their"
business associates_ to, JieJLjoJL
a holiday gift. They feel that
a gift toward the fight against
cancer exemplifies the true spirit
of the holiday season, according
to Dr. Ralph A. Camardella,
president of the Nassau Division,
American Cancer Society.
There are two holiday cards
available at the Cancer Society
headquarters in Mineola, done by
famous artists. One by Steven
Dohanos is a variation of shades
of blue, depicting three bells
hanging against the background of
a twilight sky. Dohanos is well
known for his covers on the
Saturday Evening Post and he
also designed the U.S. Post Of­fice's
attractive 1965 Cancer
Stamp.
Ted DeGrazia, long known for
many studies of his native Ari­zona
and the surrounding South­west,
granted the Cancer Society
permission to reproduce his
"Navajo Madonna". A warm
composition hi blues,purples and
reds, this painting depicts the
Mother and Child with the garb
and appearance of the South­western
Indians.
There is no set price for the
cards,, Dr. Camardella stated.
However, past contributors have
donated from 50C up per card.
A firm name can be imprinted
by the Society at cost.
Imprinted on the card is a
small inscription stating that the
card represents a donation to the
American Cancer Society.
Cards may be ordered by
writing or phoning the American
Cancer Society, Nassau Division,
1551 Helium Place, Mineola, Pi­oneer
6-7530
A 400-name petition was sub-mTttea~
to~the- Board- of-Super-—
visors of the Town of Oyster
Bay opposing a request by Jos­eph
S. Corsentino for down-zoning
from residential to busi­ness
a 2 1/2 acre tract on the
east side of Hicksville-Massa-pequa
Road in Plainedge.
About 30 residents of the area
appeared.—at the, hearing and -
voiced their opposition. Mrs.
Richard Hembech of 41 Stewart
Avenue read the following state-
"I am opposed to this change
in zoning from Residential to
Business F as applied for but
before I state my reasons of
concerning the application as
filed that require clarification.
The application mentions that to
the south of this parcel of land is
located business consisting of
Prog Hollow auto agency, an auto
body shop. Miner and Pike and
an allied food product store. This
is correct as far as it goes.
Across the street from Ellner
and Pike on the West side of
Hicksville Road is located our
neighborhood shopping center
consisting of a supermarket, a
stationery store, a barbershop,
a hairdresser, a drug store with
a post office station, a dry
cleaner, a bakery, a dance studio
and a bar. Adjacent to this shopp­ing
center to the north is a gas
station and next to this is another
group of stores containing a slot
car track for the teenagers, a
chicken delicatessen and caterer,
a luncheonette and 3 as yet un-rented
stores. On the East side
of Hicksville Road across
from the shopping center is a food
market and delicatessen and a
large dry cleaning establishment.
This comprises our neighborhood
shopping center and it is located
roughly within 800 feet of this
subject parcel of land. Further
along in tiie application are items
numbered 1 through 10. Item
number 7 mentions again what
is located to the south and
mentions the homes located to the
-West-o£- die-parcel-of land- but
there, is no mention of what is
located to the North and East
of this property. The land to the
North and die East is occupied
by one family private residential
dwellings.
Item number 10 mentions that a
good part of die area within which
this subject parcel is located is
devoted to neighborhood bus­inesses.
"Several of my neighbors and
myself walked this neighborhood
block by block, street by street
and all that we found were pri­vate
residential homes with die
exception of our local neighbor-'
hood shopping center.
' The reasons for opposing mis
downzoning are: 1 - that we have
a neighborhood shopping center;
we do not need any more stores.
2 - This subject parcel of land
Is surrounded by residential pro­perty,
is currently zoned
residential and if it is downzoned
to Business F it will decrease
die value of our residential pro­perties
and lower the value of our
neighborhood. The people living
in our community have main­tained
and beautified dieir homes
and property and it would not be
an asset in any way to put a
(Continued on Page 7)
They were" 650-strong. Their voices were loud
and clear. They were orderly and very well-organ-ized.
These were the residents of Bethpage demand­ing
that the Oyster Bay Board of Supervisors hear
their plea. The Board listened as, one by one, the
speakers arose and pleaded to have the permit for
the construction of a 60-unit apartment house set
aside. After two hours of hearings, the Board unan­imously
voted to rescind the permit. The Board's
decision was met with sighs of relief and enthus­iastic
applause. —> -
The opponents of the apartment dwellings Were
-led- by the Board of Education and the Bethpage
Citizens Action Committee. The Board of Educa­tion's
position in the opposition centered on four
points: **Bethpage's fiscal situation is critical
and any further undue burden would cause serious
consequences. Present elementary facilities are
marginal and any further loading will overburden
them. Approval of the proposed apartments would
encourage others and mean building a new school.
,Bethpage apartment dwellings would not contribute
sufficient tax dollars to offset the cost burden they
would create."
The spokesman for the Board of Education also
stated that " t h e r e was a legal issue, since the
Bethpage Board did not have sufficient time to
study the issue and present its case at the initial
hearing on the apartment decision." _____-*-—--
The Citizens Action^^ommitteer'leorSy^ James
~MacDonaId~and James Weir, agreed with the Board
of Education's position and also added several other
points. They pointed out that there would be in­creased
parking difficulties at the site of the apart­ments
and that apartment dwellings bring additional
increased cost in town services which have to be
supplied.•••"MacDonuld~px>inte3'_noTit—th^~'Tthis' type"
of dwelling encourages transients who add nothing to
a community's character or development."
Mrs. Jean Watson, President of the Pinebrook
Civic Association commended the Town Board on
improvements that have been made in the past and
thanked the Board of Supervisors for acting fav­orably
and in tihe best interest of the Bethpage
Community. Mrs. Watson, representing 900 homes
in the central area of Bethpage, joined in the r e ­quest
' to have jth# apartment decision rescinded.
Republican Assemblyman Martin Ginsberg added
his voice to the others when he said "the Willi
of Bethpage is not to have these apartments."
This was met with great applause from the audience.
He was then followed by Democratic-Candidate for
State Senate Richard E. Tilley. Tilley said that " as
a property owner, resident and taxpayer of Beth­page,
J wish to add my protest to the granting of
the subject special exception authorizing the con­struction
of an apartment house in Bethpage."
This position was also supported by Democratic
Assembly candidate Robert J. Connolly.
Republican State Senator Edward J. Speno sent
the following letter to a constituent concerning the
(Continued on Page 7)