Hempstead still hovers over the Hub

Daily Point

Attorney says town will weigh in soon on county process

Monday night’s long hearing regarding Las Vegas Sands’ proposal to build a casino resort on the land surrounding Nassau Coliseum was handled by the Nassau County Legislature — because the county has been designated as the lead agency for the state environmental review process. But hovering over all of that is the Town of Hempstead.

Hempstead officials originally planned to handle the environmental review and the town held one hearing last year, but in a court ruling on Hofstra University’s lawsuit protesting Sands’ proposal, a state Supreme Court judge directed that the process be handled by the county instead.

All that doesn’t change the long-standing reality that the town always had one of the most significant roles to play as the zoning authority.

But before any work on zoning begins, town officials are taking a role in the county-run environmental review.

The first speaker at Monday’s county hearing was attorney Steven Losquadro, who identified himself as special counsel for the Town of Hempstead.

"The town has engaged already and is continuing to engage in a very comprehensive review of all of those documents, of all of that information," Losquadro said, noting that the town is undertaking "its own independent review."

"The town at an appropriate time after all of its comprehensive review and vetting will submit detailed comments that relate to the DEIS and that will be done on or before Jan. 6, in accordance with the process that has been set forth here," Losquadro added.

Losquadro was one of the few speakers Monday who chose not to show his cards, giving no indication of whether the town was supportive of Sands’ plans or not. But his presence, and his emphasis on the town’s own plans, served as a reminder that even if Sands successfully navigates the county’s environmental review, it’ll then have additional hurdles in gaining the approval of the Hempstead Town board for both its zoning and its site plan.

That may not be easy. After all, Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin is a resident of Garden City, where many residents oppose Sands’ proposal and where village leaders just filed a lawsuit to again try to stop it.

Then there’s the history. More than 15 years ago, then-Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray held similar hearings on another draft environmental impact statement — for the Lighthouse Project, a $3.8 billion proposal to build housing, retail and a new Nassau Coliseum at the Nassau Hub. The town ultimately rejected that plan, laying the groundwork for years of inaction and the 70 acres of empty parking lot that remains barren now.

Whether Clavin, who was town receiver of taxes at the time, and Murray, who is now town clerk, handle the newest Hub proposal differently remains to be seen.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Rising medical costs

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/1120nationalcartoons

Oprahcare

Billionaire swim

Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.