There was a continuous ebb and flow of residents from Glen Cove and environs making their way to the Metropolitan on Monday, July 17 for the long-anticipated first open house presentation by Glen Isle Partners LLC, comprised of the Monti and Posillico Organizations, of the proposed waterfront development plan. The meeting came about at the request of Mayor Ralph V. Suozzi who began calling for a public presentation within weeks of taking office in January of this year. Between the hours of 1p.m. and 9 p.m., more than 1,500 people came, saw and critiqued.

At the front door, residents were met by representatives of the city, distributing a welcome message and fact sheet from Mayor Suozzi. Men and women were mingling, talking and filling out comment sheets provided by both the city and the development team. In keeping with his campaign promise to involve members of the community in the development of the waterfront, the mayor's message stated, "Your input is very important to me and today's meeting is the first major step to bring the public and citizens of Glen Cove into the discussion that will ultimately reshape our community, our waterfront and the property along Garvies Point Road. Your collective input is anticipated and welcome."

At the entrance to the room that housed the presentation, visitors were able to pick up a booklet, a "project overview" of the Glen Isle Waterfront Development, courtesy of Glen Isle Partners.

The large room was divided into various stations, each appropriate to a vital component of the development, with charts, murals, renderings and lists with bullet points. At the stations, and walking through the crowd, were representatives of the City of Glen Cove, the developers, consultants, designers and planners.

Ostensibly missing, however, was the 3-dimensional scale model many thought they would be viewing. Gary Lewi, a spokesman for Glen Isle Partners, said that the model that exists does not correctly display the current plan. Calling the development a "project in motion," Mr. Lewi said, "We are continuously making changes. Models take a very long time to build and we did not want to present something that would not be accurate," adding that the developers would rather present an accurate mural than an inaccurate model.

According to Mayor Suozzi, he had repeatedly asked for the scale model to be presented at the meeting, but was told on July 10 that the model would not be displayed. The mayor said the model has been used for two years to depict the waterfront vision to the City of Glen Cove and its agencies and that it provides a significant means of communicating the scope and breadth of the project. "The model was used at a number of meetings, at one as recently as April, to educate me on the project," he said, but as of July 10, he was told that in place of a model, a color rendering of the project would be presented. He added that he, other city officials, IDA, CDA, planning board members and the public were all seeing the presentation for the first time that day.

The waterfront development encompasses approximately 56 acres. Of that, 25 percent to 30 percent, or about 14 to 16 acres, has been designated as open space and parkland, according to the proposal. The plan envisage approximately 60,000 square feet of cultural arts, entertainment and recreational uses, approximately 50,000 square feet of office space, approximately 40,000 square feet of specialty retail space, marinas, catering and restaurant facilities, a hotel complex and luxury spa, an esplanade edging the entire waterfront district and 860 residential units, of which 10 percent will be workforce housing. The Glen Cove firehouse was missing from the mural, replaced by a stand of trees. Don Monti said there have been "discussions" about moving the firehouse to a new location. A more attractive entrance to the waterfront, as per the mural, would be an ice-skating rink and a carousel. According to Mayor Suozzi, there are no current plans to move the firehouse. "If the firehouse was going to be moved, it should have been moved before the current road project was begun and the trees cut down," he said. The mayor emphasized that the mural should have depicted the realities of what now exist in the area, not just proposals. He added that the question of the fire department is not where the firehouse is located, but rather what impact the proposed development will have on the services and current manpower of the city's emergency services. "Based on our current financial situation, deficit and cash flow, Glen Cove cannot afford the city it is now," he said.

Glen Isle maintains that the economic tax benefits to the City of Glen Cove and its school district are projected to be in excess of $22 million annually, about which Mr. Monti said, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reinvent this city and revitalize its existing downtown business district." He added that the project would enable the city to lower or hold taxes steady "year after year." On the subject of dollars and sense, Mayor Suozzi stated that at this point in time, the city maintains a healthy skepticism on all aspects and numbers regarding the development. "Any potential tax benefits have not been documented," he said, "nor have I or anyone from the city seen numbers showing any benefits since April. Much of what was presented at the meeting is based on assumptions ... guesstimates ... and not facts."

Of major interest to visitors were the 860 residential units, as evidenced by numerous visitors pointing to the numerous notations of "residential" on the mural that covered the rear wall. According to Mr. Monti, the 860 units, two buildings of which would be approximately14 stories high, (and twice the size of AvalonBay) play a large part in the financial viability of the project. When asked by a resident if he was open to negotiations on the size and scope of the residential component of the project, Mr. Monti remarked that while he is open to ideas and suggestions from the community, he will not change anything that will affect the project's economic success.

Mr. Monti maintains that the waterfront as proposed will complement, not compete with, Glen Cove's downtown. Glen Isle's plan includes the possibility of a loop bus, tram or trolley from the waterfront to the downtown. This fact, he added, will also alleviate traffic problems, another concern voiced by many of the residents at the presentation. In addition to bringing waterfront residents to the downtown, public transportation would be supplied to local railroad stations, enabling commuters to leave their cars at home. Additionally, Mr. Monti stated that Glen Isle anticipates the hotel to have amenities that will alleviate the need for residents to go into the downtown for services, such as dry cleaning. "Residents could drop dry cleaning off and a local downtown dry cleaner would pick it up and return it," he explained, adding this would be a positive factor for both consumer and provider. In addition, according to Mr. Monti, the road now being built to the waterfront is designed to handle twice the traffic anticipated by the current plan. While this fact might be true, Mayor Suozzi expressed concern that the city's roads leading to the road to the waterfront do not have that capacity. "You have to consider the halo effect," he said, referring to the ripple that moves out from one central locale to surrounding areas. "A traffic study has many more dimensions than just the question of whether one road [in a vicinity] can handle the anticipated traffic. Glen Cove already has traffic problems with its many cut-throughs and areas where drivers speed. The fact that the new road itself will help from its starting point forward does not answer the question of traffic around that road. Data has not yet been substantiated, " he said.

Mr. Monti, in answer to a resident's questions, remarked that there were three major considerations in regard to the addition of 860 residential units to the city's population: sewage, garbage and water. He stated that the city's sewage system is "more than ample," that the city' s current waste transfer facility could handle the additional material, but said Glen Isle proposes to arrange for all garbage to be removed by private firms and he maintained that the city is "in need of a new well," which the developers plan to install.

In a subsequent conversation with this reporter, Mayor Suozzi said, "In regard to city services and infrastructure, neither Mr. Monti nor any non-city official is authorized or qualified to speak on behalf of the city or to provide information to the public." In response to the question of Glen Cove's wells and water capacity, the mayor stated that the city has "sufficient water for today and tomorrow's needs. We are, in fact, currently selling water to Sea Cliff, which is experiencing a water supply issue." Mayor Suozzi continued, "The city has a five-year outlook on capital plans for all departments and infrastructure, which may include plans for a new well if and when necessary. The city is not in need of assistance from outside entities in communicating the city's needs to the public or determining the city's future capital investment needs. The city constantly monitors water quality and levels."

In reference to Mr. Monti's statement on sanitation pickup, the mayor stated that while Glen Isle has said there will be private pickups, that is not a certainty. "There is no guarantee that the city will not have to deal with the reality of the responsibility of sanitation pickups, which will impact on the city in areas such as manpower, salaries, benefit packets and such," he said.

The mayor did agree that the city's sewage waste treatment plant is working below its potential capacity.

Mayor Suozzi asks that any residents who have questions about these or any city issue contact either the mayor's office or the appropriate department. The telephone number of the mayor's office is 676-2004 and the main number of city hall is 676-2000.

Opinions of community members at the meeting were mixed, though more residents expressed negative comments than positive when asked by this reporter. "The whole thing is too big, too dense, for our small city," stated one woman, whose husband added, "We aren't Queens, you know." Others made the same comment, replacing "Queens" with "Manhattan."

A gentleman remarked upon the fact that the proposal "doesn't seem to have much for those of us who already live here" and a woman looked wide-eyed at the mural and asked, "This is Glen Cove?"

But there were those who asserted that the Glen Isle proposal represents the future of Glen Cove. "It looks to me like a lot of life," said one resident. "It seems very well worked out and is a heck of a lot better that what is there now."

Sources at the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce expressed delight that the waterfront project seems to be going forward, and view this as a positive asset to the region and to the future growth of the Glen Cove business community. Francine Ferrante of the BID said, "Board members that attended the open house and myself felt it was a wonderful experience for the community and were glad that the Downtown BID was able to see and comment on what is being proposed for the waterfront. We look forward to a follow-up and hope that more information is forthcoming and the process continues to stay open."

Following the presentation, Mr. Monti stated, "We were delighted with the attendance at this workshop. It demonstrated that our effort to create an effective information vehicle was on target and that the process of dialogue, input and community discussion works and works extremely well."

Mayor Suozzi was very happy that the meeting, which he called "so long overdue," attracted such a large number of interested residents wanting to be involved, and he emphasized that this meeting was just the first of many to come. "This was not the City of Glen Cove's meeting, nor was it Glen Isle's meeting ... it was the people's meeting, and it went very well in that regard. I met people from areas around Glen Cove that I hadn't met before. I talked with residents for eight hours. Before this presentation, at every meeting I have attended with the developers, I was the only Glen Cover in the room. Now I've been in a room filled with the people of Glen Cove. Without the community's input, we are navigating without direction," the mayor said. "Much of what was exhibited here today was 'wish list' material," he continued. "Every decision to be made will be made with solid documented information and will be doable, sustainable and affordable for the citizens of Glen Cove. Tonight was not show and sell, but show and tell.

"Our next meeting will hopefully be in September, in a larger venue where people can again come through the door and see, absorb and react to the development proposal," the mayor said, adding, "Then our city's leaders and members of boards, agencies and commissions can use the input of our citizens to help reshape our community and our waterfront."