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Friday, April 14, 2023
Vol. 98, No. 15
TOP BUSINESS BURGLARS TARGET A GOP CHALLENGER FOR SANTOS RESTAURANTS LEADERS PAGES S1-S60
Playhouse project seeks help from IDA
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A Q U AT I C A D V E N T U R E S
Developers, citing financial problems, to apply for 23 years of tax breaks BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z The First Playhouse project in Great Neck Estates is in financial distress, according to the attorney representing the developers who are now seeking tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. Paul Bloom from Harras Bloom & Archer LLP, the attorney representing the applicant, told agency board members that the 20-unit, mixed-use apartment building cannot be constructed without financial assistance. “We need all the help we can get,” Bloom told board members during a public meeting. The application from First Playhouse of Great Neck Corp. requests payments in lieu of taxes for a total of 23 years, which would freeze taxes for the first three years. The sales tax break, according to the application, is $1.27 million with a mortgage tax benefit of more than $116,000. The agency board voted to set up a public hearing to discuss the application and hear from members of the public on the matter. The next meeting of the agency is set for April 27. The plans to have a mixed-use building that includes a floor of retail have been presented to the board for
years, but prior plans from other developers have been under discussion for more than a decade. Plans for the proposed five-story, mixed-use structure were approved by the Great Neck Estates board in January 2020, but modifications presented by Bloom and project developer Albert Shirian of Lions Group NYC in January 2023 had the building decrease in size while expanding the number of bedrooms. The fifth story of the project, which included a penthouse, will be removed under the revised plans and the number of bedrooms will be increased from 35 to 40, while maintaining the same 20 units previously approved. The total height of the building will be reduced by nearly nine feet with the removal of the fifth floor. The square footage for the individual units is also reduced in the proposals, ranging from roughly 900 to 1,500 square feet. The overall shrinkage in square footage for the building would be roughly 7,000 square feet, officials said. This cutback would save $2.8 million, Shirian said, citing the increased cost of construction materials as to why the reductions were being presented. “The price of everything has gone Continued on Page 47
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK SCHOOL DISTRICT
South Middle School students participated in a cardboard boat race last week.
National group takes aim at local schools BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Project Veritas, a right-wing group known for deceptively edited exposé videos with ties to prominent conservative and Republican
groups nationally, has recently made its presence felt in some of Nassau County’s public school districts. The nonprofit organization has had representatives present in some of the North Shore’s public school
districts, with videos showing various officials discussing diversity, equity and inclusion in the class. An email to Manhasset School District officials last month called for Continued on Page 46
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