The Town of Hempstead has scheduled a public hearing for April 24 to consider the rezoning of a Levittown property from a "Business District" to "Golden Age Residence District."

There are actually two public hearings, both scheduled for the same date, one which is directed toward rezoning the area and the second which, in a similar vein, is regarding the revocation of the declaration of restrictive covenants dated April 1954. The applicants, who have petitioned for rezoning and revocation of the restrictive covenants, William Edwards, James Levin, Thomas J. Gillen as trustee of the Gillen Living Trust d/b/a Jumbo Investments and MDS Enterprises are proposing a senior citizen housing development for the southwest corner of Gardiners Avenue and Roxbury Lane, which is currently being used by Ford, which operates the property next door as well.

The property, for which the development is proposed consists of 1.47 acres, on which 33 two-story units and 44 parking spaces would be constructed.

If the town board agrees to the rezoning, that property can only be used for senior citizen housing unless the operators of the site put another application before the board. If the board does approve the rezoning, the applicants must then go before the town's building department before they could actually construct the development. In the past the town has set affordable housing, especially for senior citizens, as a priority so it is expected that unless there is a strong objection from the community that this proposal will be approved by the board.

The public hearing, which will be an opportunity for the community to comment on the proposal, will be held at Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion, located at One Washington Street in Hempstead, at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 24.