Nat Board: The Time is Right for Avalon Huntington

In recent weeks - and we'll zero in on that word "recent" a bit later - we've heard a swelling chorus of protest against the proposed Avalon Huntington Station development awaiting Town of Huntington approval.

Thanks largely to one man's Facebook page and a local news outlet, we have heard outcries like these:  

• It will turn into Section 8 housing.
•  It will become "low income, welfare housing."
•  There will be a flood of poor people into a community "already overburdened by too low-income housing."
•  "This housing development will resemble Queens."
•  It will "…open up the gates for developers to come in and turn Huntington Station into Hempstead."
•  Those four-story buildings will tower over the neighborhood.
•  The schools will be overwhelmed by a flood of new students.
•  "It will take away the open space we all moved out here for."

In the hope that for most people, fears can be dispelled by facts, here are a few helpful ones.  

1)  Not one of Avalon's 1,000 or so Long Island units has Section 8 apartments, and there is no requirement for them to accept rent vouchers; thus, there will be no Section 8, no "welfare housing."

2)  75% of the units will be at full market level. Only 8% will be for people earning below 80%  of the Suffolk median income. Thus, there will be no "flood of poor people coming in."

3)  A mere glance at the development's layout, appearance, and features shows it will look nothing like Queens, especially considering the nature of the surrounding neighborhood. As for Hempstead, its long, steep decline began years ago when the new, nearby Roosevelt Field Mall sucked out the local shopping, killing the local stores and dropping property values. Avalon, on the other hand, will add a huge boost to local business.

4)  The front buildings (on 5^th St.) will be only two stories, the rear buildings three stories. There will be no four-story buildings.

5)  The schools obviously are prepared to handle the projected new students, since the         Board of Education has fully supported and welcomed this development. In fact, analysis has         shown that there will be fewer new students than there would have been from the development of four- and five-bedroom homes that has previously been approved for that land.

6) This particular piece of open space was already spoken for twice before: The Long Island Railroad wanted it for rail yards, and then came the above-mentioned development of houses (which remains approved, unless Avalon replaces it.) That land is not going to stay open; we can only control what will be put there.

This protest's chronology is intriguing. The project has been in the works for many months. Extensive discussions were held with school officials, civic groups, and many others. The path to approval seemed fairly clear. On March 9, a well-advertised public hearing at the Town Board meeting heard 54 speakers (until well past 10 pm) regarding Avalon. By far, most, and most of the audience, were strongly in favor. That was nearly four months ago. Nothing has changed…except for improvements offered by Avalon: one less building, 40 fewer units, a long overdue stoplight at East 5^th and Park, and a bus shelter on Pulaski, thus encouraging more transit-using residents.    

Question: in light of all the above, why such vociferous protest suddenly in just the recent weeks? Opponents say they want the vote postponed from July 6 because "everyone's on vacation then." Really? How many besides students? So far, our streets and parking lots don't look any less crowded at all.

Opponents say, "We need until mid-September to study the issues." Really? The recent uproar hasn't brought out any issues that weren't already brought up four months ago and worked on by the board since then.    

The use of fearmongering via provable falsehoods smacks of the national tea party movement and its anti-government mantra, especially given the involvement here of the Conservative Society of America, our local tea partiers.

That's really too bad.

Our local government - the one that clears our snow, fixes our roads, preserves and obtains parkland, and rebuilt Heckscher Park - is trying to open the door for the private sector to perform a small miracle. That would be a planned and controlled development that would keep more families together, cut down on the severe drain of young starter-people from Long Island (four times the national average), and, by the way, add a huge and ongoing boost to Huntington Station's economy, as well as millions of dollars to its tax base. In these severe recessionary times, that's quite a blessing.    

It's natural to fear the future, but we have to face facts: Long Island (and America) can no longer afford sprawl, The future (i.e., day after tomorrow) is sensible multi-family housing…and Long Island is way behind. Since 2000, of all the building permits granted in the rest of the Metro New York area, 37% were for multifamily housing; here on Long Island, that figure was only 22%. The path has already been well-cleared for this one step in the right direction; it's time for Avalon Huntington Station.