Two years ago the Town of North Hempstead sold the land which had formerly been used for parking its highway equipment to developer Robert Frommer. At the time Mr. Frommer planned to build senior housing of approximately 110 assisted living units. This did not seem to be an outrageous proposal to us. Supervisor May Newburger was adamant that the town had to sell the property because it needed the money. Despite rumors to the contrary, most of the property was not dedicated parkland and the current state of the property was disgraceful. Unfortunately Mr. Frommer became discouraged about the possibility of developing the property in the face of residents' protests and sold the property which is chiefly in the Village of Thomaston. The present developer plans to lease or sell the land to Savoy Senior Housing Corporation which plans to build a 226 unit complex in two five or six story buildings over two levels of parking. This is a horrendous overuse of the property and the residents of the Bayview section of Manhasset are understandably outraged. Unfortunately the residents of Thomaston will be much less affected by the project and have shown no interest in stopping it. This is not surprising considering that the project is expected to generate $250,000 a year for 15 years in tax revenues to Thomaston. An unexpected ally is the Village of Great Neck whose board of trustees has announced opposition to the development because of projected traffic congestion and the location of the site on a coastal flood plain. We applaud the Bayview Civic Association for its intention to lobby state agencies for assistance. The most likely ally would appear to be the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Stay posted.

E.F.B.