Promptly at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Jan. 14, the attorney for the Roosevelt Field Mall will rise in the hearing room of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Hempstead and will commence presenting his case for a variance to allow the mall to expand beyond the Town's FAR (Floor Area Ratio). According to statements made by the mall's attorney, Mr. Ballen, to the Town when the special hearing was scheduled, he plans to speak for most of the morning. Upon the conclusion of his remarks, the Village of Garden City will then be afforded the opportunity to present their points against the granting of a variance. All residents of the Village with concerns about the proposed expansion of the mall are not only able to come and speak, but are encouraged to do so by the Village officials and presidents of each of the POAs.

With newsletters by the EPOA and Chamber of Commerce, for example, questioning with their headlines, "When is Big Too Big?" regarding the mall, the sentiments throughout the Village seem to be strongly against the growth of the mall. Many residents and community activists have pointed to traffic as the number one concern they have with the expansion, followed closely by the economic impact more stores at the mall could have on not only Garden City's downtown, but local downtowns throughout central Nassau. Another point raised is that further development of the mall would only be one more aspect of what some have termed the "overdevelopment" of the area east of the Village.

With the County adopting its Master Plan and proposals for development of the Hub area still looming undefined, any development in the area outside of the Incorporated Village of Garden City in what is still called Garden City and uses the 11530 postal code, but contributes no tax money to the Village, residents and merchants alike are concerned about the future and see the mall hearing for a variance as an opportunity to gain a concrete stand to help shape that future.

Jaral Properties, Inc., owned and operated by Garden City residents, maintaining offices on Seventh Street, has begun construction of their new project, The Wingate Inn Hotel, east of the Village on Stewart Avenue where some Village residents and officials hope will one day be called East Garden City with its own zip code. With the 129-room hotel to open in mid-1999, Stewart Avenue will see an increase in traffic with the maintenance staff, housekeeping, management, foods services, and other hotel personnel, the guests staying in each of the 129 rooms, and any business people attending conferences or lunches there.

While designed to link the business community to the Hub area, and its owners have stated in letters to the editor published in Garden City Life that it is not designed to compete with the Garden City Hotel, it does promote itself as "The Wingate Inn Garden City Hotel." While most residents are not concerned about the competition to the Garden City Hotel, feeling that it will always remain strong, people have commented that with two hotels that close to one another, the traffic situation will be more difficult on an already busy Stewart Avenue.

Another issue raised is the Town's water supply. In years past the Town's water supply has been used as an argument to prevent further development, claiming that the Town could not support proposed structures in terms of the amount of water that would be used by the possible tenants. With 129 guest rooms, an indoor pool, and facilities for all of the employees, the amount of water that will be used daily at this facility far exceeds many of the proposed developments opposed in the past. While most people will state that they would like to see their fellow residents have an opportunity to succeed in free enterprise, and wish them well on one level, on another it seems one more neighbor that will use the Garden City name, generate significant traffic, and use valuable natural resources.

When asked why there is so much opposition to the mall, but there was little noise about the new hotel, a few residents offered their opinion that the hotel had public support from the Town government, and so people see it as futile to attempt to oppose it. At the groundbreaking ceremony, in fact, Councilwoman Linda Reed, Town Supervisor Richard V. Guardino, Nassau County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta, Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell, Councilman Angelo Ferrara, and Garden City resident and Town Councilman Joseph J. Kearney were all photographed bearing shovels and hard hats at the site of the new hotel, 821 Stewart Avenue.

The mall expansion, on the other hand, would be in violation of the Town's own zoning codes, which is why a hearing on whether or not to grant a variance is required. The hearing is open to the public and anyone can sign in and request time to air their concerns before the Zoning Board of Appeals. The hearing will be held in the pavilion at Town Hall Plaza in Hempstead at 1 Washington Street (also approachable by going through 350 Front Street in Hempstead and exiting on the ground floor out the back). There is parking available in a municipal lot across the street from the 350 Front Street entrance. For more information, individuals are advised to contact a POA representative or call Town Hall at 489-5000.