Lately I’ve been watching a lot of movies that deal with time travel. A young Mr. Spock meets an old Mr. Spock. Billy Pilgrim in “Slaughterhouse Five.”
In “The Terminator,” a human from the future comes back in time to save the Mother-to-be of the man who saves humanity from the Cyborgs in the future. It’s a good trick; he comes back, impregnates the woman, who bears his son, who is his commander back (forward?) in the future. In Terminator 2, the same woman, Sarah Connor, tries warning Humanity of the destruction that is to come. She has seen it. No one believes her, of course, with her story of time travel and apocalypse.
I feel like Sarah Connor. I’ve seen the future, and now it’s here. I tried warning people, but got ignored or laughed out of the room. So now we can all watch, in slow motion- as the Peninsula goes past the tipping point.
For those who fought along as we tried to stem overdevelopment, for those who cheered when Dr. Bral pulled back his “master plan” for redevelopment of the Village from the public agenda, I have some bad news; that battle is long lost. Some fight on, believing there is a chance for victory, for mitigating the damage caused by greed and short sightedness. WAKE UP!
The war is over, the cyborgs have won, overdevelopment is already happening, and is, I believe, beyond stopping, or even mitigating. “No, Sam!”, “Say it ain’t so!”…. Why do I say this?
If you recall when the war over the “master plan” was raging, there were 19 properties identified as “properties of interest”- ripe for the picking, you might say. Developers had picked out 19 properties to redevelop, and this was the raison d’etre for the “master plan” itself- to give political cover to the developments, as well as the “Citizen’s Advisory Committee”, which was created to give political cover to the plan. Two layers of shade meant to give credibility to all the new development.
Well, the “master plan” is gone. The Citizen’s Advisory Committee is gone. But what about the nineteen “properties of interest”?!
777 Middle Neck is being redeveloped- 44 apartments on the way.
733-741 Middle Neck is being redeveloped- originally 25 apartments or so, the project is now up to 60!
Middle Neck Pharmacy is gone, 10 apartments under construction.
Middle Neck Road and Clover Drive is under construction; 44 apartments.
Just south of this, on the other side of the gas station, 74 Units are going in at 200 Middleneck Road. (where Cafe Rustica used to be, where my kids’ Pediatrician still is).
Just North of this, on the other side of Temple Israel, 100 new apartments are going in. Think they’ll keep the trees, let alone the people, at Millbrook Court?!
In Great Neck Plaza, there are 13 apartments going in at 16 Maple Drive- the corner across from Daruma; where Tasti D-Lite used to be. This is across the street from “The Playhouse”, with 20 apartments, and around the corner from 15 Bond Street, which is renting out 60 apartments.
And then there’s the old sewer site on East Shore Road, which looks like it will be developed into 50+/- apartments.
Catch my drift?! Have you been adding up apartments as you’ve been reading? Let me save you the time: 475.
That’s right folks, as of now there are 475 apartments already built, under construction, or in the final stages of getting paperwork in order!
Is this enough to “revitalize” the Peninsula? Because it’s sure enough to stuff the schools, the parking lots, the roads. Is it enough to keep a supermarket open, or a movie theatre, or an Italian Restaurant (we miss you Bruzell’s, Bevanda, Cafe Rustica).
If there are 74 apartments going in across the street from Associated Market, how many will be built to replace Associated?: The empty storefronts on that block- The warehousing of empty stores (Subsidized by New York State – end this!) is a sure sign something’s in the works.
It’s hard to imagine this Peninsula getting any more divided than it already is- Ethnic differences, Political differences, masks and ant-maskers- now age differences, as Millennials campaign for more apartments- to stay close to parents, or to replay the good old days of the Great Neck they grew up in- as they begin and grow families of their own in the great town they remember growing up in.
The problem is that that town is gone, and will never be back. I’m enough of a Buddhist to understand that nothing lasts forever- that the only constant in life is change. The world is changing. The very concept of “suburb” is changing. At least how this suburb is changing. Can we call it “Urbanurbia”?
We have to learn to live together, without the bitter divisions, in this new version of The Peninsula. It’s the only way to live, especially as we get more crowded.
I’ve never been “an obstructionist”, or an “anti-all-developmentist.”
Clearly, there’s been a need for revitalization, and some level of development- I just argued for scaled-down development- a scale in line with a suburban village.
But 475 apartments?! And this is before Associated goes under the plow, and the last jewels in the crown- the department of public works site turned into- who knows how many apartments (trust me- people already know how many- they’re just not sharing!), and of course, where I got on this merry-go-round, Academy Gardens.
Anyway, to quote Bugs Bunny, before he gets canceled too; “That’s all Folks”!
Sam Yellis
Village of Great Neck
The current population of the Great Neck Peninsula is approximately 40,000 residents. If an additional 475 apartment units scares anyone, they have other motives besides “overcrowding.” (sic)
As a person who grew up in Great Neck, and attended the excellent public schools, I see a major concern. Schools are financed by property taxes. Apartments do not generate the same level of tax revenue as single family residences. So…with all of these new apartments come a potential influx of new students. HOWEVER…the school tax revenue can NOT keep up with this increased financial stress on the schools. The developers build and then are gone.
How does local government propose to handle this potential fiscal burden???
In fact, apartments generate more in property tax than SFRs, because profit making properties are taxed at a higher level, while also using less in public services, like, road, water and sewer. The apartments are less likely to house school children. Aside from that, the schools are under no “financial stress.” The district will rob you blind as they always have without shame.
Mayor Bral and his administration takes the position that the Builders pay Real Estate taxes on the building as a whole. and at a higher, “non-homestead” rate.
True, but keep an eye out for PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) , and abatements for years that some projects may get
It’s not a “position.” There are four classes of real estate for the taxation purposes. Class 1 is for single family homes and condos. Class 2 is for almost any income generating property, which would of course include a rental or retail property.
I’ve lived here since 1962, and graduated from Great Neck South in 1970. The peninsula looks like a slum. I’ve never seen it look this bad in over 50 years. I have no idea why anyone seeks to keep it that way.
The local zoning laws were designed to correspond with the local infrastructure capacity. Different taxation rates were set for multi-family and single-family buildings based on allowed population density for different zonings to maintain the needed infrastructure. The balance of zoning, taxation, and infrastructure is what defines the quality of life and property values. If this balance is ruined, the community is doomed.
If multi-family buildings receive tax breaks (Avalon, 24-250 MNR, 5-9 Grace Ave, etc.) and don’t pay their designated share, the single-family houses have to carry the burden and suffer value depreciation.
If apartment buildings pay taxes but receive variances it means that they pay less than their fair share. If zoning allows 10 apartments on a lot but the developer receives a variance to build 15, means that he’s paying not enough taxes for the extra 5 apartments. Additionally, the 5 apartments clog the system that wasn’t designed for these extra residents/cars. The infrastructure system needs to be expanded if it was at its capacity (which is the case in Great Neck).
If new developments are unavoidable, they should:
a) receive no tax relieves and
b) contribute significantly to the local school fund. The contribution should correspond with the variances they receive.
For that many new apartments that popped up recently and for that many variances they received, the Great Neck community should be at least able to build a new elementary school or a school-district-wide STEM center. 400 families mean at least 400 children, but probably more in Great Neck. It’s a full school.
Saying this, not every infrastructure system can be expanded indefinitely. Great Neck’s geography as a peninsula as well as water supply have its limitations.
Developers behave penny-wise and pound-foolish biting the beautiful hand of the Penninsula that feeds them.
“If multi-family buildings receive tax breaks (Avalon, 24-250 MNR, 5-9 Grace Ave, etc.) and don’t pay their designated share, the single-family houses have to carry the burden and suffer value depreciation.”
The State Tax Law does not work this way. Each property class is responsible for it’s own portion of the tax pie. So if a commercial property (Class 2) gets a reduction, the other properties in that class- NOT single family homes- make up that shortfall. This presumes the properties mentioned are rentals.