Seeking Cool Name For Hempstead Turnpike Corridor In Elmont
As we blogged way back when, "a blight in Elmont, left untreated, will eventually infect every tree in Wantagh."
And we're well on the way!
Elmont: Blighted.
West Hempstead: Blighted.
Uniondale: Blighted.
Baldwin: Blighted.
Hey, can't our town be blighted too?
Well, the time has come, at long last, to make right out of blight.
And Elmont, the Gateway to Nassau County, is a great place to start the rebirth of America's first suburb.
As a result of public discontent (and a little nudge by way of Get Smart), the Elmont community has put real pressure on the Town of Hempstead to amend its zoning code. The Town, or so we are informed, has progressed from no zoning change planned, to let's change the zoning from Elmont Road to the Cross Island Parkway (on a trial basis), to let's change the zoning for the entire Hempstead Turnpike corridor in Elmont. A draft of the Amended Town Code should be available for comment shortly.
[A thank you, more than paranthetically (sorry, that's all we've got ;-) is due to Town of Hempstead Councilman Ed Ambrosino, who remains steadfast in the people's corner in Elmont, atuned to the principles of planned smart growth (if not the name), and a staunch supporter of redevelopment. Thank you, Ed!]
If the County gets its act together, and the Town can do other than what the Town ordinarily does, could Hempstead Turnpike, and that twenty miles from Elmont east, begin that long-awaited renaissance?
Well, when and if the 21st Century reaches the Hempstead Turnpike corridor, that byway will need -- and deserve -- a catchy new name, something that would give it an identity akin to "The Nautical Mile" in Freeport, "The Miracle Mile" in Manhasset, or a trendy name like "Tribeca" in Manhattan. If Elmont is ever to have a "Cool Downtown," then it certainly needs a cool name.
So, what to call the Hempstead Turnpike corridor in Elmont?
The Back Stretch, in honor of Elmont's Belmont Park?
Gateway Highway?
How about Recovery Road?
As always, we suggest, you decide. Think of a hip new name for the Hempstead Turnpike corridor in Elmont, and clue us in at thecommunityalliance@yahoo.com.
It's more than just the Turnpike, after all. It's where Nassau County begins!
Meanwhile in East Rockaway we just received $556,000 from Skelos for a kayak launch ($230,000) new recreations office ($200,000) and new facade and windows on the library ($126,000) and from Fran Becker($100,000) and $600,000 from Carolyn McCarthy for a Natural gas fueling station and vehicles.
ReplyDeleteWould anyone think theres a better way to use this money with all the boarded up stores? We already have 2 other launch areas in East Rockaway and the one they are building will never be used.
You wouldn't think we are going broke the way they are spending. Dean Skelos who has been a critic of Patterson has given away almost $40 Million alone not even including the ridiculous projects mentioned above that don't even appear as pork on the seethrough ny website.