Saturday, March 08, 2008

Glenwood Landing and Glen Head Open Space Acquisitions Proposed at Oyster Bay SEA Fund Meeting

The Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association appeared at the Town of Oyster Bay's Save Environmental Assets (SEA) meeting at Town Hall on Tuesday, March 4, to support two acquisitions in Glenwood Landing (GWL) and Glen Head.

The first is the propane field on Shore Road, which has made every town and county open space bond priority list. The second is a lot on the southwest corner of Glenwood Road and Glen Cove Avenue where a building was recently razed. Five area civics submitted a proposal for acquisition of this lot in a letter to the town dated January 8.

The Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor also appeared at the meeting and offered support for both of these acquisitions.

The propane field has been fully remediated. It is directly on Hempstead Harbor. Its acquisition would create a spectacular GWL Waterfront Greenway that would connect with Tappen Beach. The town has received a small state grant to help offset the cost of the purchase. The NYS Open Space Plan specifically states that establishing a GWL Waterfront Greenway is a state priority, as does the town’s own GWL Waterfront Revitalization Plan. 

The town stated that it has approached National Grid with a formal proposal for acquisition of the propane field and is awaiting a response.

It was our impression that, under the town’s first SEA fund round, the propane field was not acquired because much of the funds were needed for the very worthwhile Underhill purchase, which the Civic Association actively supported. It was our impression that, under the second round, the propane field was not purchased because it was not perceived as threatened—an attitude that may have been misguided given the recent sale of KeySpan to Nation Grid. We can only hope that National Grid will be receptive to a deal.

At the meeting, the Civic Association pointed out that the community tolerated the installation of two new generators several years ago largely out of hope, born out of many informal conversations with involved parties, that the propane field would soon enter the public domain. It seemed like a reasonable compromise: a few new generators across the street from the water in exchange for prime waterfront access directly on Hempstead Harbor. But the community has now been waiting more than six years for reclamation of Glenwood Landing’s industrial waterfront to move forward.

The second property is a vacant lot in central Glen Head on the southwest corner of Glen Cove Avenue and Glenwood Road, where a building was recently razed. In a joint letter, civic associations in Todd Estates, Hill Terrace, Harbor View, and Glen Knolls/Glen Head Estates and the Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association suggested that the town explore acquiring this property under the SEA fund for use as a village green. The civic associations said that they believe village greens are important for attracting businesses, maintaining property values, and creating vibrant, pleasant communities that can compete with neighboring incorporated villages.

The Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association also requested that the town provide a comprehensive updated report of all SEA fund activities to date. 

During the last several years, the Glenwood / Glen Head Civic Association has distributed more than 10,000 flyers supporting the town and county open space bonds and has appeared before the town board and county legislature to support several acquisitions, including the Underhill property in Jericho.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your diligence and passion in keeping our community a priority.