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Let’s Rewrite the Story. INCORPORATING THE WEST HEMPSTEAD BEACON VOL. 75 No. 39
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Downtown revitalization workshop elicits praise and raises concerns By REINE BETHANY Special to the Herald
Courtesy Antonio Kelley
at the fourth annual Mayor’s Cup Softball tournament in Campbell Park last Saturday, players from five village departments threw themselves into the competition for the trophy, as shown by this close call at first base between the first baseman from the Hempstead Police department and a batter from the department of Public Works.
Fourth annual Mayor’s Cup Softball Tournament played on a perfect day Laughter and friendly competition between village departments By REINE BETHANY Special to the Herald
Of the multiple events happening all the time in the Incorporated Village of Hempstead, one of the most cheerful is the Mayor’s Cup Softball Tournament. Last Saturday, the fourth yearly tournament leaped into action under blue skies and balmy breezes at Hempstead’s Campbell Park. Mayor Waylyn Hobbs, Jr., Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels, and County Legislator Olena Nicks cheered the players and congratulated the victors. Teams from five village departments competed to win the shiny three-foot-high trophy. Delrayo Goodman acted as referee, stepping into the big shoes of former referee Randy “Satch” Harrison. Game 1 saw the Department of Public Works, in bright yellow-and-white shirts bearing the slogan “Hempstead’s Strongest,” confronting the Department of Parks and Recreation, “Hempstead’s
Adventurous,” whose calm green shirts aligned with the sunlit grass on which countless villagers have played for over seven decades. The “Strongest,” encouraged by the participation of their supervisor, Frankie Germinaro, took Game 1. Game 2 pitted the red-shirted “Hempstead’s Bravest” Fire Department against the orange-shirted Department of Sanitation. Several green-shirted “Adventurous” joined the “Bravest,” whose team members were few, though determined. The game ended with a win for Sanitation. In Game 3, “Hempstead’s Finest,” the Hempstead Police Department wearing blue-and-white shirts, took on Sanitation. The blue edged out the orange and continued to Game 4, the championship. Game 4 had viewers on their feet and yelling as the “Finest” endured a tough battle against the “Strongest.” “It’s been very competitive between the COntinued On Page 7
uled to rent at market rate, except for 7-8 percent of the total to be priced as affordable housing. Three of the four projects would have ground-floor retail space. All of the new buildings would include underground parking spaces for tenants and shoppers. At the Q&A session that closed the meeting, villagers questioned the proposed apartments. Responses came mainly from Deputy Mayor Jeffery Daniels and lead DRI consultant Edward Lamson, who is a principal with BJH Advisors.
Community Workshop Meeting #2 of the Hempstead Downtown Revitalization Initiative, held Sept. 17, offered villagers a chance for input into the distribution of $9.7 million of state grant money. Under the warm yellow lights of the roomy gym at Kennedy Memorial Park, attendees examined colorful posters displaying the 18 revitalization projects that have applied for grants. Eleven of the 18 projects are aimed toward boosting small businesses, upgrading Villagers’ reservations public institutions like the Community activist Hempstead Public Library Shelley Brazley asked and the African American about increased population Museum, refreshing village density. parks, modifying Main “We see all these apartStreet and Fulton Avenue to ment buildings,” Brazley add trees and pedestrian DEpuTY MAYoR said. “How are we going to walking space, opening a JEffERY DANIEls educate incoming children? fine dining restaurant, and How will our fire departcreating defined architectural guidelines ment and police department maintain for new and refurbished buildings. safety? Our community is already four Three other projects are designed to times denser than Garden City.” provide local workforce training and With 16,000 people per square mile, small business incubation at 54 Main Hempstead is indeed 3.7 times more Street (Hempstead Bank), 100 Main Street, densely populated than Garden City, 2.8 and 150 Bedell Street. times denser than Uniondale, twice as Four proposals are from four different dense as Rockville Centre, and more property developers. These four projects than twice as dense as West Hempstead would contribute 1,100-1,200 new apart- or East Meadow. ment units to the Downtown Overlay Zone. “The apartments are already behind Their four requests total $7.5 million. us,” Daniels said, implying that the new The Downtown Overlay Zone overlaps apartments are endorsed already by the the DRI area, giving the developers the village administration. “This meeting is right to apply for some of the DRI money. primarily to focus on what we want for the The proposed apartments are schedCOntinued On Page 3
W
e don’t want to be the affordable housing capital of Long island. We have done our fair share.