Since the hearing on this vital issue has been continued over until March 3, my letter to Chairperson Hodges and the Town Zoning Appeals may increase residents' awareness of the issue and its importance and encourage them to attend and speak out.

Letter to Town of Hemsptead's Zoning Board of Appeals addressed to Chairperson Hodges:

Since I was out of town for your Feb. 4 hearing on the proposed Roosevelt Field expansion, I would like to put it in writing, for the record, not only my personal concerns regarding such an approval, but also those of many of my fellow residents in Garden City and the surrounding villages around Roosevelt Field and the area which has come to be known as "the Hub." I am also writing to you as a Board member of both the Garden City Eastern Property Owners' Association and the Village's Environmental Advisory Board.

In the above capacities, and as an interested and concerned resident, I attended most of the public workshops and information sessions regarding the recently approved Nassau County Master Plan. Although the Plan was sorely needed, and incorporates many commendable guidelines and proposals, the most glaring flaw, which almost everyone alluded to, was the lack of inclusion of a definitive study of future development plans and proposals for the Hub. No Master Plan for Nassau County could possibly be complete without a major discussion of this huge acreage in which Roosevelt Field is a major player.

My grave concerns for what's happening and what could happen in Roosevelt Field and the surrounding area go back to mid-1989 -- yes, 10 years ago. Then presiding officer for the Town of Hempstead, Gregory Peterson, spoke to a packed auditorium in the Stewart School, at the very busy intersection of Clinton Road and Stewart Avenue. Due in large measure to his personal shock and concern over the size, height, location and density of a new building at the Stewart Avenue entrance to Roosevelt Field, the Town of Hempstead wisely instituted a reasonable .4 FAR for future development. This was established in spite of the fact that the original Roosevelt Field Mall had been built to a .529 FAR, thus making it a prior non-conforming use. Unfortunately, as future events would bear out, the Zoning Board would be able to authorize a greater FAR by "special exception."

At the 1989 meeting to which I've referred, Mr. Peterson complimented the Village of Garden City for its building moratorium, in anticipation of completion of the Village's Master Plan update. He further stated that the Town of Hempstead wanted to cooperate in every way to help keep Garden City the "jewel" that it is. Mr. Peterson went on to say that 2 hotels, scheduled to be built east of Garden City, were not granted persmission, due to a lack of water (hotels being heavy users) available in the Roosevelt Field Water District. That was 10 years ago. The face of Roosevelt Field and the Hub has altered and grown dramatically since then. A new hotel has recently begun construction at the Stewart Avenue and Earl Ovington Boulevard entrance to Roosevelt Field. Where is all this water going to come from? And, what is that doing to the water supply of the surrounding villages?

Responding to direct questions, Mr. Peterson said the old A&P warehouse would soon become what's now the Caldor Shopping Center and the Reckson Building (which he described as a disaster) should complete all the new building in the Mitchel Field area.

Mr. Peterson's audience, and the surrounding villages, were appeased for only a short time. The early 1990's saw "the Field" once more under construction with a major renovation and a huge 2nd floor addition. No variance or special exception was acquired, presumably because the new construction was offset by an equal reduction in bulk -- taking down Le Petite Mall. This was unusual, becasue we understand the common rule is that the voluntary elimination or reduction of a non-conformity use does not permit new construction that will reinstate the non-conformity. What happened here?

Just a few years later, the Mall took another quantum leap beyond the .4 FAR, which just 6 years earlier was deemed necessary to quell the tide of out-of-control deliterious development! This time a "special exception" was granted even way above the existing Mall's non-conformance at .529. Nordstrom's got permission to build a huge new "flagship" store on the east side of the Mall, with a giant-sized parking garage and an FAR of .696!

Surrounding villages, expressing concerns, were led to believe that this would be the "crowning jewel" to complete the "new" Mall for the new Millenium. This was it! Far from being it, just 3 years later, and the ink barely dry on the Nordstrom's Grand Opening, the Mall owners are proposing yet another huge addition -- this time a very large appendage to the Macy's west side, which would border Garden City at Ring Road and necessitate yet another level of parking on the east side garage, to make up for the hundreds of lost spaces at the proposed addition site.

If this "special exception" is granted, the .4 FAR will be almost doubled to .75! FARs are established to make sure an area is not developed beyond its reasonable and sensible limits. An Environmental Impact Statement for such a project should not be segmented out of the total development picture for the entire Hub area. It is supposed to take into account the issues of safety, health, welfare (both personal and economic), comfort, convenience and order of the Town and surrounding areas -- in other words, the quality of life issues that are being adversely affected by continued and increasing development in one area. Not the least of these issues is increasing traffic congestion on our public streets and the corresponding increase in noxious gases, odors, smoke and soot.

Unfortunately, development in the Roosevelt Field/Hub area has grown "like Topsy" without any Master Plan, without any thought to the end product or whether or not the development of this huge parcel of land in central Nassau would augment or detract from the communities around it. Very little, if any, thought has been given to the cumulative negative effect that each piece of the development could have on a total picture. What's been allowed to happen is the creation of a kind of huge octopus or magnet that slowly and insidiously, over the last several years has made life in the surrounding communities much less attractive, certainly less enjoyable, and definitely more expensive.

The very life-blood of our downtown areas, their vitality, is being increasingly lost to the powerful draw of the big mega-mall. Along with this increasing loss of business to our downtown areas, the departure of stores from downtown brings the loss of our commercial tax base. Therefore, residents of villages are paying a higher share of taxes or suffering decreases in their village's services, which is one of the reasons people moved into them.

My family and I have been residents in the eastern section of Garden City for almost 22 years -- 16 of those in the Mott area. My children walked the block and a half to Stewart School, just across Clinton Road. We never thought twice about the crossing guard being able to safely get them to the other side. In the last several years the picture has changed. Due to the steadily increasing and more dangerous traffic, the guard is gone; there are no walkers. The district pays for every child to be bused -- even those living right across the street! No -- one single development didn't make that happen -- but a steady and cumulative increase in building over the past several years has put the situation well "over the top" as far as what we should have to tolerate.

For the past 6 years, our family has lived 2 blocks south of Stewart Avenue. When we first moved here, we had a fair amount of traffic during the morning and evening rush; it was fairly quiet during the day and almost negligible at night and on weekends. With the building of Incredible Universe (now Target), the theaters, and 3 restaurants, the Home Depot Complex, the Price Club big box area, the Source Mall, the Stewart Avenue development, and all the Roosevelt Field expansions, our street has become an alternative to heavily trafficked Stewart Avenue and the increasingly busy intersection at Stewart Avenue and Clinton Road. The air quality in our area has greatly deteriorated, and the increasing fumes and emissions on our street and on nearby Clintin Road have necessitated having the eastern side of our home power washed each of the last few years. This condition is worse each year.

An Environmental Assessment must take into account quality of life issues of those areas possibly impacted by an approved action. Garden City, Mineola, Carle Place, Westbury, Salisbury, and Uniondale are all affected areas. One more addition may add only a small percent to the problem, but segmentally, each new permitted development, variance granted or "special exception" adds detrimentally to an already overbuilt central Nassau.

The Town of Hempstead, and specifically the Zoning Board of Appeals, has the power to say "Stop -- enough is enough!" A Building Moratorium should be the first order of business. A very hard look at the Hub should then be taken. Yes, hard choices may have to be made. Developers may have to be compensated in some way, but should be encouraged to be creative and take a look at the many kinds of soft development which are possible for any and all of the remaining land within Roosevelt Field and the Hub (described as the area bordered by Clinton Road, Old Country Road, Merrick Avenue, and Hempstead Turnpike).

Don't let Vincent Polimeni build his just recently proposed 175,000 square foot office tower in Roosevelt Field's northwest corner. Don't grant the special exception that is before you now. Just say no to further unbridled development. Just say yes to the residents of your Town. When the living becomes less than palatable, your residents may find more desirable places to live. Roosevelt Field and the Hub could begin to look more like our current downtowns. Please don't let this happen. The "malling of America" is not positive. It's not for what most of us come to suburbia.

Our families have lived in the Town of Hempstead for several generations. We are appalled by the lack of planning and forethought in the development of this vast tract of land just east of us. It could have been a creative showplace for residents and visitors alike instead of the traffic choked, high-density city of big boxes and shops, which many of us try to avoid. Please, take the high road and stop this madness, where only developers stand to benefit.