Micro-apartments, community theater proposed for Farmingdale

A new community theater, a restored 300-year-old home and “micro-apartments” near downtown.

These are among the projects Farmingdale leaders are hoping to realize using a $4.5 million New York Forward grant the village was awarded this spring. The village plans to hold a series of public meetings to gather ideas about the best ways to spend the money.

The community theater and performing arts center — the highlight of the multimillion dollar plan  — would breathe new life to the downtown and help encourage outside investment in workforce housing, Farmingdale officials have said. And new, small, studio apartments eyed in the plan could further efforts to boost the number of housing units in the village. 

The first public workshop will be held Tuesday at the Farmingdale Public Library from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., according to the grant’s website.

“You want to have the brainpower there to generate different ideas,” Brian Harty, the village administrator, said in an interview.

Dan Ruckdeschel, Farmingdale’s deputy clerk treasurer, said he hopes to solicit "ideas about the things we’re not thinking about.”

Eyeing a theater site

State officials announced the grant funding for Farmingdale in March, Newsday has reported. 

In its initial application for the NY Forward grant, Farmingdale officials said they will set aside $2.8 million to establish a community theater and performing arts center. The total project would cost about $4 million.

The theater would seat about 250 people, according to the village's application, and serve multiple purposes ranging from concerts to lectures. The village said it has identified multiple properties that could be converted into a theater. 

Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said the theater would serve as a boost to the downtown, already a bustling hub with entertainment and food options. 

“We can do so many different things with a performing arts theater,” Ekstrand said. “We can do a Billy Joel cover band; we can do dance recitals.”

Micro-apartments

Officials also plan to invest into more housing in the village. 

"The arts are an important community builder and prosperity generator, thereby attracting more investment into housing," the village said in its application. 

The village is in the process of studying the feasibility of “micro-apartments” on Eastern Parkway. The concept is small spaces — about 350 square feet — geared toward younger commuters who want to live near the downtown, Ekstrand said. Farmingdale plans to allocate $1 million of the funding to the village’s efforts to increase housing, he said.

The village has added 500 new housing units since 2014. 

Farmingdale also expects to allocate $300,000 toward the Thomas Powell House restoration,  $300,000 for small business projects and $100,000 for marketing efforts, according to the village’s application.

Last fall, Farmingdale purchased the Thomas Powell House, believed to be built around 1700, with the intent of making it a museum showcasing the village's early days.

A planning committee will review the community's suggestions and offer recommendations for spending the grant. 

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Farmingdale-based nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the committee is “charged with assessing all the projects and ranking them and then making recommendations.”

“We’re kind of like an advisory think tank,” she said.

Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island and a member of the committee, said the procedure for the grant “is process heavy” but ultimately improves “the transparency of where the funds go.”

It will also tap into the creativity of community members, Alexander said.

“There may be a great idea out there that nobody knew about,” Alexander said.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ