Greater Farmingdale Community Land Trust Continues Mission

Local revitalization, affordable housing and promoting the land trust model were the center of the Greater Farmingdale Community Land Trust's second annual meeting this week.

A handful of residents attended the meeting ran by GFCLT board members Chuck Gosline, Rich Gosline and Cheryl Parisi.

President Chuck Gosline explained that the group is continuing to work with municipalities and elected officials toward the goal of getting funds for land in Farmingdale.

"We don't need a thousand people in the audience but we need a thousand residents out there in the community that understand that this is valuable," he said.

The group's focus remains on building an intergenerational recreational community center/a performing arts theater and developing 100 percent permanent housing units for young and older residents and more affordable commercial business space.

With near completion, the group is in talks with the Town of Oyster Bay, the YMCA and potentially other groups to get their vision for a community center on that space.

"We believe this can happen through a civic-municipal partnership, but we will need three or four hands in this operation. We are advocating for partnership," Gosline said.

Residents in the audience remarked that this center is important because it addresses the "social" aspect of community that is difficult to measure.

The group also discussed how the CLT model creates and maintains community assets like affordable housing. Gosline explained that this is done by separating the cost of the land from the structure, utilizing one-time land subsidies.

The meeting also included a presentation by Sustainable Long Island Urban Planner Artineh Havan, who explained the ongoing planning process of the village's master plan. The next step is a public hearing July 11 at the library for discussion and comment on the draft of the environmental impact report.

Havan also spoke about the Farmingdale High School student team who recently participated in a workshop designing the possible new community center.

The meeting concluded with the nomination of Dr. Miriam Deitsch, Ph.D, a sociology professor at Farmingdale College to the GFCLT trustee board. Cheryl Parisi was named vice president and former trustee John Capobianco stepped down to run for Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor.

GFCLT emerged from the Discover Farmingdale Study Group, created in 2006 “to provide a forum for community members to engage in a community based planning project that we believe can promote more community stewardship toward helping to improve the future health and welfare of the greater Farmingdale community,” according to a letter from the group sent to Farmingdale residents in 2009.

For additional information or to become a member of GFCLT, contact Chuck Gosline at ckgosline@optonline.net.