Letter: Decision On October 3 Could Change Levittown Forever
Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00
Josato Builders is scheduled to appear before Kate Murray, Gary Hudes, and the entire Hempstead Town Board, to request a special zoning change of the land in between Orchid and Blacksmith Roads in Levittown. The change is necessary to build a private multi-dwelling attached condo complex of approximately 50 units and parking for 117. The current zoning of the land allows only single-family houses.
If the town board allows the land to be changed from the current zoning, the builder will be allowed to build multi-family attached condos. What would stop Josato or another builder from buying several Levitt houses on any other block, knocking them down, and appearing before the town board requesting the same zoning change?
The builder would then already have a precedence established to do so. This precedence could allow condos to be built anywhere in Levittown! Josato also owns property between Orchid Road and Woodcock Lane. The Levittown Property Owners Association (LPOA) has been fighting this re-zoning and the dangerous precedence it will establish, for some time now.
Condo units have no place in the middle of single-family houses in Levittown. The streets are not wide enough to handle the increased traffic, and the parking is not adequate and will spill over to adjacent streets. The look and feel of Brooklyn and Queens will be in the future of Levittown very shortly. The increased property tax generated from multi-family condos in Levittown is not the answer for the Town of Hempstead’s budget shortfalls.
Kate Murray, Gary Hudes, and the Town of Hempstead Town Board will hear arguments from the Levittown community about this critical matter on Oct. 3, at Town Meeting Pavilion, One Washington Street in Hempstead at 10:30 a.m. This critical hearing could change the face of all Levittown.
If you value the suburban feel of Levittown you must come and make your opinion heard! Also contact Kate Murray and Gary Hudes and let them know that you don’t want Levittown re-zoned to allow condos!
Rick Ekberg
News
Wednesday, 19 June 2013 00:00
The members of the eighth-grade graduating class at Jonas E. Salk Middle School proceeded down the aisles of the school’s gymnasium in a ceremonial moving-up tradition, as proud parents and family members watched from the bleachers. Class officers led the salute to the flag, after which the eighth-grade chorus, conducted by Lisa Levenberg, sang the national anthem.
Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
When Msgr. Ralph Sommer was growing up he found inspiration from the example of his uncle, Father Ralph Besendorfer. “He was a Brooklyn priest,” said Msgr. Sommer, who is known to parishioners as “Father Sommer” or “Father Ralph.”
“My uncle was a most powerful and delightful influence, happy, caring, and helpful,” said Father Sommer, outgoing pastor of St. Brigid’s Church, in Westbury. “I would look at him and say, ‘I could do that.’”
For a number of years, Father Besendorfer would come out to St. Bernard’s in Levittown on weekends to assist.
Now, Father Sommer finds himself about to become pastor of St. Bernard’s on June 26, succeeding Msgr. Gerard Ringenback, pastor of St. Bernard’s since 2001.
He doesn’t know if anyone at St. Bernard’s will remember his uncle, Father Sommer said, but “if I meet people who remember him from that time, it will be a nice thing.”
Born in Flushing, Queens, Father Sommer grew up in Garden City, attending St. Anne’s School. He advanced to St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary, a high school for young men considering the priesthood.
“It was a caring community,” with priest-instructors and students who shared an interest in exploring the priesthood.
For college, he left the seminary system for Adelphi University near his home. “I walked every day. We didn’t have another car.”
Adelphi offered an opportunity to test his vocation. He majored in psychology, “which I thought would help me if I became a priest.”
After Adelphi, he returned to priestly studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington. Upon graduation, he was ordained a priest in 1983.
Sports
Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
Senior pitcher Anthony Semonella at Division Avenue High School has received a scholarship from the University of Bridgeport and has signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at the collegiate level. He was joined by parents Donna and Ralph Semonella, Principal Dr. Francesco Ianni, Physical Education Chairperson Mauro Chiti and varsity baseball coach Tom Tuttle as he signed a letter confirming his acceptance to the university’s athletic program.
Photo provided by Syntax
Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00
St. Thomas Aquinas College freshman Robert Naughton, of Levittown, has made his impact known in the NCAA Baseball East Coast Conference. Naughton started out his 2013 campaign not allowing an earned run in the first 19 innings he pitched.
At completion of his first season Naughton pitched 58 innings compiling a record of 6-1, leading the East Coast Athletic Conference with an era of 1.54.
Calendar
Poet Laureate Induction - June 15
Island Harvest Benefit Run - June 15
Lazy Days Of Summer - July 12
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