Wednesday, March 04, 2009

A Master Plan For Nassau County?

Planning Commission To Outline Vision On March 16th; Public Encouraged To Attend

Robert Moses, the so-called Master Planner, responsible, in great measure, for the migration eastward from New York City, passed away in 1981, his last foray into public works, as head of the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority, having pre-deceased him by some thirteen years.

Indeed, while there have been many attempts to formulate a workable Master Plan for Long Island, and Nassau County, in particular, as evidenced by what has become of Nassau's "downtowns" and byways -- where zoning by exception rules, and vision is of the tunnel variety -- there hasn't been much planning in these parts since Moses parted the scene in the late 1960s.

Yes, there have been pokes at creating a Master Plan, in one incarnation or another, lo these many years (and we've chronicled the good, the bad, and the downright ugly, right here at The Community Alliance blog), yet, save those plans that lay gathering dust in the catacombs or bottled up like some magical genie of yore, not one has made its way from drafting table to the streets of Long Island. [Piecemeal spot development, courtesy of local zoning/planning boards, notwithstanding.]

If at first you don't succeed (or at second, third, and forth, for that matter), try, try again.

And try again the County of Nassau will, with the Nassau County Planning Commission set to unveil its vision -- not an actual plan, but a vision for one -- for that new Nassau on Monday, March 16th from 5:30-7:30 PM at the County Legislative Chambers, 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola.

It is touted as a Public Kickoff Meeting, and that means, you, the public (formerly, we, the people), are invited to add your input and share your vision, this in the hope that the new (and improved) Nassau won't look so much like the old Nassau, or at least not like the one that time has forgotten since the days when Levittown became America's first suburban community.

Granted, that "vision" thing hasn't yielded much in the way of planning, let alone smart growth or redeveopment of either brownfield or "Main Street" -- at least beyond the Victorian-style streetlamps and brick pavers that have passed for "streetscaping" -- but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

We'll keep you posted as the Planning Commission's vision -- and the Nassau County Master Plan website, which, as of this blogpost, is still "under construction" (surprise!) -- takes shape, and offer our own insight, recommendations, and observations, as watchdog of Long Island's quality of life.

Through the follies and foibles of planning and zoning (or utter lack thereof) as have turned America's oldest suburb into America's most blighted suburb, hope springs eternal.

Yes, Robert Moses, there is a Planning Commission (as there was a Lee Koppelman. Remember him?) Let's just hope, for all of our sakes, they (we?) get this vision thing right this time, and live to see paper hit pavement in our lifetime.

Excelsior!

3 comments:

  1. To All:
    Please be informed that the PUBLIC WORKSHOP will be held from 5:30pm - 7:30pm (not 7pm-9pm as indicated in this blog entry). Look forward to seeing you there!

    -Nassau County Planning Department

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear fellow-advocate, my name is Josephine and I am the founder of www.LeapforPatientSafety.org. Please visit our website to learn more about us and our efforts. We are having our "Annual Patient Safety Walk" on Saturday, May 9, 2009. The walk is free. This year's honoree is Esmin Green. Ms. Green was left dead for 2 hours on the floor of the emergency room at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn after waiting 24 hours of not being attended to in a timely fashion in June 2008. We will meet at the Rockville Centre Long Island Railroad Station and we will start walking to Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre. Mercy Hospital is the hospital where an unidentified young woman died after surgery to remove both breasts - all because of a horrendous blunder by Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, New York. She didn't even have cancer. Her lab results were mixed up with someone else's. The unidentified woman's left-breast biopsy tissue had been "interchanged" with another patient's at the Rockville Centre, Long Island hospital (Mercy Medical). We would be so delighted if you would help us organize a group to walk with us. We welcome you to walk with signs displaying your organization. We hope to hear from you. Many thanks for your attention.
    Kindest regards,
    Josephine (646-244-5509)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rockville Centre cops do stake outs to get you for no inspection and seat belts all the time!!! And it takes at least 4 coppers to handle this rough assignment at $100,000/year. real dicks!

    ReplyDelete