The following Guest Blog was submitted by West Hempstead resident Joseph Azose. The views expressed are his own. We at The Community Alliance just happen to agree with them!
Of all the lawmakers working for us in Albany, few have greater pull with the MTA than the 9th district’s Dean Skelos. As the representative of the State Senate on the MTA Capital Program Review Board, Senator Skelos enjoys particular influence over how state money is spent on MTA-related outlays. Given the enormity of the overarching organizational umbrella of the MTA and owing to the fact that the LIRR comprises but a small portion of its total transportation system, we in southwestern Nassau County are fortunate to have one of our own at the MTA Review Board to make sure our local interests are addressed, such as keeping fares down and ensuring that branches are kept open. Indeed, Skelos has used his formidable position with the MTA to go beyond basic maintenance and cost controls by securing funding for pet projects earmarked toward the upkeep and beautification of LIRR station throughout the 9th district.
But while Skelos has brought home the bacon for much of his district, some of his constituents have been conspicuously left out in the cold. Browsing through Skelos’ campaign office website (http://deanskelos.campaignoffice.com), one can find the many “investments in local communities” that the senator has claimed to have championed in recent years, including funding for LIRR station improvements, streetscape projects, road repairs, etc. Compared with what the Deputy Majority Leader has brought home for pet projects in other communities, it is quite clear that West Hempstead has ended up with the short end of the stick.
Using data taken straight from the above website, the following chart lists the amount of funding secured by Skelos for various LIRR stations in his district:
Station - Funding
Baldwin - $412,000
Cedarhurst - $1.85 Million
East Rockaway - $917,000
Island Park - $0
Long Beach - $5 Million
Lynbrook - $462,000
Malverne - $452,903
Oceanside - $700,000
Rockville Centre - $780,000
Valley Stream - $213,000
West Hempstead - $0
Woodmere - $371,000
As is obvious from the chart, along with Island Park, West Hempstead has gotten short shrift from Skelos. While it is true that Skelos (along with help of Assemblyman Tom Alfano, and after incessant prodding from local civic groups) twisted the MTA’s arm to repair an old railroad fence along the right-of-way that until then posed a lethal danger to nearby residents, the Senator has otherwise obtained not one red cent for improving the WH LIRR station.
Thus, while Rockville Centre has been busy installing beautiful kiosks and decorative clocks at its station, while Cedarhurst put in beautiful water fountains, while Malverne planted decorative flowers and shrubs, the West Hempstead station remained in its old, decrepit condition, much like the district’s forgotten stepchild.
Furthermore, aside from LIRR station improvements, WH is the only community profiled at the website for which no money has been secured (beyond the requisite grants for the fire departments, little league, etc.) for other endeavors such as road improvements and streetscape projects.
One might argue that in this era of belt-tightening in Albany, now is not the time to clamor for pork-barrel spending beyond that which is absolutely necessary. But if Skelos has clearly demonstrated that this money has been abundantly available to benefit other communities, why is it that West Hempstead keeps getting overlooked? Given its current condition, there is perhaps no railroad station in greater need of a facelift than West Hempstead’s. Abutted on one side by the hideous mountains of dirt and tires at AVF Carting (a waste transfer station), and on the other by the indecorous Courtesy Hotel, all the while piles of trash and debris mingle among the overgrowth of weeds along the right-of-way, one who disembarks at the WH station might well imagine he had just stepped off onto some alien moonscape.
With the Town of Hempstead’s recent, long-awaited, move to condemn the Courtesy Hotel, it is hoped that the redevelopment of that property will lead to an overall gentrification of the surrounding area. As such, the upcoming year or two will afford a unique window of opportunity to improve the WH station in concert with improvements to adjacent properties.
It is high time for Dean Skelos to start delivering for West Hempstead in the way he has shown he is capable of for other communities. Residents of West Hempstead should demand no less from him.
CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS OF LIRR STATIONS AND CORRESPONDING FUNDING. PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE AUTHOR, JOSEPH AZOSE.
Editor's Note: Come now, Joseph. You're just jealous. Look, you have a railroad station adjacent to a hotel, just like Garden City. As for AVF Carting - that toxic dump masquerading as a waste transfer station - you can reinvent Freedomland on that garbage dump, and start your own amusement park!
With Dean Skelos, the Senate's Deputy Majority Leader, as an ex-officio member of the MTA Capital Improvement Review Board (and, for all intents and purposes, the man who holds the purse strings for MTA/LIRR funding), one has to ask why unincorporated areas such as West Hempstead and Island Park get zippo, while other communities within the Senatorial District reap millions. [There's also some head-scratching here as to why the man who holds the reins on funding for the MTA in the one hand, has to circulate Petitions to curtail LIRR increases and to halt the MTA's proposed third-rail with the other hand. Another story for another blog, we suppose!]
Click here for more on what was Freedomland. [Hey, if we can't get ourselves to move forward into the future, at least we can look back with nostalgia at an illustrious past! :-)]
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SHORT TAKES
Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows
Talking about West Hempstead's notorious no-tell motel, a banner was seen this past weekend hanging from the side of the Courtesy's facade, proclaiming support for Town Supervisor, Kate Murray. Believe it or not!
The larger-than-life poster, reading RE-ELECT KATE MURRAY, TOWN SUPERVISOR. WE SUPPORT THE WEST HEMPSTEAD POLICE BOOTH, was illuminated against the backdrop of the hotel's northern wall, and could be seen through the gloom of night by motorists along Westminster Road and Hempstead Avenue.
So THIS is what they mean by "sleeping with the enemy!" The Courtesy Hotel endorses the very person who now says she wants the hotel condemned. Hmmm.
The banner mysteriously disappeared from the Courtesy's wall on Sunday, possibly victim of the wind and rain -- or maybe the Town of Hempstead is finally getting around to enforcing ordinances that prohibit illegal signs!
As for the intended Police Booth - designed to serve as a visible means of crime prevention in the area of the Courtesy (as if the police cruisers parked on-site nearly 24/7 aren't enough) - we have a better idea for reducing crime at and about the hotel. CLOSE THE COURTESY!
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PETERSON TO ADDRESS NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION
Republican Candidate for Nassau County Executive, Greg Peterson, will be the featured speaker at the October 27th Meeting of the Nassau County Civic Association.
The Meeting, to be held at 7:30 PM on Thursday, October 27th, will take place at the Hicksville VFW Hall, 320 South Broadway (Route 107), in Hicksville.
Peterson, a partner in the law firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson & Peddy, was the former Supervisor and Presiding Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, and Chairman and CEO of Nassau Downs OTB.
The Nassau County Civic Association is a non-partisan organization whose mission is to promote open, honest, and moral government that is responsive to the needs of the people of Nassau County, while encouraging public participation and awareness; to encourage the wise and efficient use of taxpayer dollars;
to limit and reduce the high burden of any and all government taxation on the people of Nassau County; to seek and support any reform which may be necessary to achieve the objectives and purposes stated herein; to disseminate information concerning all aspects of the above stated purposes. [To boldly go where no civic association has gone before. No, wait, that's Star Trek! :-)]
to limit and reduce the high burden of any and all government taxation on the people of Nassau County; to seek and support any reform which may be necessary to achieve the objectives and purposes stated herein; to disseminate information concerning all aspects of the above stated purposes. [To boldly go where no civic association has gone before. No, wait, that's Star Trek! :-)]
For additional information about the October 27th Meeting and the Nassau County Civic Association, visit www.nassaucivic.com/.
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THE TAX MAN COMETH
School Property Tax bills are in the mail. Some of you may have already received them. Hope you had the smelling salts on hand!
Once you get over the initial sticker shock, take a look at the bottom line -- the total tax due. Then DOUBLE that amount. This is what you will be paying within 5 years if we fail to reform the way we fund our schools!
Then look to the upper right of the tax bill for estimated State Aid, and divide that by the total tax levy. This will give you a ballpark figure of the percent of the tab being picked up by the State of New York. Typically, Long Island School Districts receive somewhere in the neighborhood of 12% to 18% in State Aid. Upstate Districts receive upwards of 60%! Disparity, thy name is the NYS Legislature...
THE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE SURVEY
Help us help you to reduce the School Property Tax. E-mail us with the following info from your Tax Bill/Statement:
Name of School District
Dollar amount of Tax Levy
Percent increase from last year
Tax Rate (What you pay per $100 in Assessed Value)
Dollar amount of estimated State Aid
Dollar Amount of Total Tax Due
Let's get our fair share of the State Aid pie, and work to replace the oppresive School Property Tax with a fair and equitable system!
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