Raymond Court homeowners petitioned the Garden City Board of Trustees to "act expeditiously and favorably upon the application of 550 Stewart Avenue Acquisitions LLC for a change of zone for the former Newsday/KeySpan property on both the north and south side of Stewart Avenue at the eastern end of the village."

Peter Menoudakos noted that he and his neighbors are concerned that the developer will opt for commercial. "We are asking trustees to do their best to move the process forward as residential," he stated in a July 15, 2005 letter to Mayor Gerard Lundquist. "There have been some comments made by some residents who question the preference for 'housing' as opposed to commercial for these sites. We are convinced and I believe the studies show that the impacts of residential housing would be a great deal less than with a commercial development."

The petition, in which 15 residents signed, states: "We believe that it is in the best interest of the village to adopt the proposal for development of townhouse residences on the north side of Stewart Avenue as well as the proposal for condominium units, at a scale commensurate with what is permitted for commercial development, on the south side of Stewart Avenue."

550 Stewart's original proposal for the two parcels of land suggested erecting 36 attached, 2,100 square foot single-family dwellings, including a garage for each, on the northern side of Stewart Avenue which would appeal to empty-nesters and newly married couples. On the southern side, the original proposal entailed constructing a five-story, 160-unit apartment building scaled back from the main road. 550 Stewart has since opted to reduce the number of residences from 160 to 150 units, construct the residences as condominium units and reduce the building height from five stories to four on the southern side. The complex would exude a Georgetown court atmosphere, according to the project architect, with smaller neighborhoods within the overall site and cobblestone streets and garden courts.

In order for residential development to move forward, trustees must adopt a local law amending permitted uses in the C3 zoning district to enable 550 Stewart to construct attached housing on the northern side of Stewart Avenue and multiple-dwelling housing on the southern side.

Kevin Walsh, co-counsel on behalf of 550 Stewart Avenue, LLC and 550 Stewart Avenue Acquisitions LLC, came before the village board and public for the first time last July to present construction plans for what's become commonly referred to as the "old Newsday building." The two sites in question total close to 10 acres; the vacant lot is 4.5 acres while the former Newsday site totals 5.29 acres.

Walsh believes residential use would have far less of an impact on traffic in the already congested area as opposed to, for example, an office building. He cited statistics: if left commercial, 150 cars could congest the area during peak hours when compared to only 30 cars for a 36-unit attached single-family dwelling.

A Grove Street resident doesn't buy it. "Thirty-six single-family townhouses on the north side and 150 multi-family units on the south side is definitely going to generate a lot of traffic," he said. "Saying that 36 units would produce approximately 30 more cars is effectively low by standards in Garden City. All you have to do is walk around any residential area and everyone has at least two to four cars in their driveway. So to say that 36 units would create 30 cars I believe is totally ludicrous ... I'd like the trustees to look at the situation and judge it upon pluses to the community."

Robert Stark, Jr. Eastern Property Owners' Association president, reiterated what his predecessor James Carney has said: "The EPOA believes commercial development and the traffic patterns normally associated with commercial development would aggravate traffic flow on Stewart Avenue. As such we again urge this body to move along this property development with the end result being a residential development that preserves the character and appearance of a Garden City property while adding a taxpaying neighbor property development to the eastern most portion of the village. The EPOA looks upon the residential development of these two parcels as a positive development." The EPOA recently passed a resolution requesting the board approve zoning changes to allow for residential development.