INCORPORATING THE WEST HEMPSTEAD BEACON VOL. 76 No. 16
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257 Main Street project moves ahead
First Street plans 246-unit mixed-use development, including multifamily homes Street is rooted in both local history and presentday housing needs. “The vision really is to After years of starts, bring high-quality multistops and behind-thefamily housing to the Vilscenes work, a long-dislage of Hempstead,” Walkcussed redevelopment er said. “I think the village project in downtown has been overlooked for a Hempstead is finally coming into focus. long time, and this is an Developer Rashid Walkopportunity to bring qualier who grew up just minty housing back.” utes from Main Street has He added that Long secured the 257 Main Island faces a significant Street site, where his firm shortage of multifamily First Street Companies RASHId WALkER housing options, with plans to build a 246-unit Rashid Walker, founder of restrictive zoning and limapartment complex with First Street, who plans a ited developable land makretail space and parking. 246-unit mixed-use building ing projects like this The project adds to a increasingly rare. at 257 Main Street in broader effort by local offi“There’s a dearth of cials and private develop- Hempstead village. multifamily housing on ers to re-energize Main Long Island,” he said. “So, Street with housing, commerce and pedes- I think this would be much needed.” trian activity, marking a significant new The development is expected to include investment in the village’s downtown. roughly 6,100 square feet of retail space at For Walker, the project is both a profes- street level, designed to attract neighborsional and personal milestone. A longtime hood-serving businesses. Walker said the real estate executive with experience at tenant mix is still being finalized but firms including AvalonBay Communities, could include cafés, a bagel shop or other JPMorgan Asset Management and Wood local retail establishments intended to Partners, Walker said the Hempstead support daily foot traffic. development represents the culmination Village officials have expressed strong of nearly a decade of effort to unlock a support for the project, pointing to both its site he began working on in 2015. economic potential and its connection to a The project also reflects First Street’s local developer with deep roots in the combroader strategy of targeting multifamily munity. markets across the New York metropoli“Very excited about this project, not tan region, including recent collabora- only because it supports the Village of tions with Charlotte-based Grubb Proper- Hempstead’s downtown revitalization, but ties on large-scale residential develop- because we have a developer who grew up ments in Long Island City and Lower in Hempstead,” said Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Manhattan. Jr., noting the project aligns closely with COntinued On Page 2 Walker said the idea behind 257 Main
By ABBEY SALVEMINI
asalvemini@liherald.com
Jennifer Havern Major
Bernie Havern coaching Malverne Little League.
New roadway at to be named after Bernie Havern
Havern was Malverne’s little league icon By NOAH PERETZ nperetz@liherald.com
Before the Malverne Little League’s Opening Day on Saturday, the village will unveil Bernie Havern Way, as a tribute to the man who was the heart of the village’s baseball community and a widely respected resident. Havern was a Nassau County Police Department detective, the founder of Molloy University’s baseball program and a Malverne Little League coach. He is a member of Molloy’s Hall of Fame, inducted in 2011, and his Little League teams played in tournaments across Long Island and as far afield as upstate Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Havern died on April 13, 2012, at age 68, after a battle with cancer. Fourteen years after his death, the village is honoring him with a roadway in Whelan Park, where he built much of his legacy.
“He was a good man,” former Mayor Catherine Hunt said. “When he died, the church was packed like he was the president. I didn’t believe how many people knew and loved him. He was very generous with his time and energy in this village.” Havern’s daughter, Jennifer Havern Major, recalled his status and reputation in the village. “His former players called him up years later to let him know they got engaged,” she said. “He was a mentor for them in baseball and in life.” Havern and Hunt established the Malverne Dodgers in the late 1980s, a team made up of post-high school athletes that competed in the Long Island Stan Musial Amateur Baseball League. “It was a team for men around the college age,” Hunt said. “Some of the people who played on those teams are probably 50 years old today. if you mentioned Bernie Havern, they would remember COntinued On Page 4