The public process of rezoning a portion of the Christ Church property has begun. As expected, a number of neighbors of the church and people in the community in general have strong opinions about the project. I wish to respond from my perspective to some of the comments that were made at the public hearing.

Nearly two years ago leaders in the North Hempstead community met at Greentree Estate to conceptualize the greatest needs of the people of North Hempstead. Developing resources and programs in North Hempstead to support seniors was agreed upon as a highest priority.

When it became clear to the leadership of Christ Church that it would be necessary to sell some of its campus to raise the funds necessary to repair the historic church, redevelop a building for parish and community activities and secure a small endowment, it was decided that the sale of property to provide housing to enable Manhasset's active seniors to remain in the community where they raised their children would be the most desirable use for part of the church campus. We sought developers who were committed to senior housing. We chose to make available for purchase a piece of land slightly smaller than two acres on which the developer could build housing; however, Christ Church is not a co-developer of the property.

At the public hearing, it became clear that there were a number of issues that caused unease with the proposed senior housing project. Traffic in the area of Christ Church was a primary cause of dissatisfaction and there was concern that senior housing might increase traffic. Since moving to Manhasset four years ago, I have pondered the traffic often. I seldom drive on Plandome Road, but I walk often there. Much of the day traffic is terrible. There is little public parking and most of that is not overly convenient to the town center. Drivers, as has been often noted in the Manhasset Press, vie for parking spaces, block traffic while waiting for an available space, make illegal U-turns and drive aggressively. Although there have been improvements in signals and street markings, the situation remains troublesome.

One of the major reasons for the traffic problems of Plandome Road (and beyond) is that Manhasset, like most Long Island communities, is automobile-dependent. From the beginning of the 20th century through the late 1930s, Manhasset was built around a town center. Most residents walked to the train station, schools and stores with ease. In the late 1930s, with the expansion of Munsey Park and the development of Strathmore-Vanderbilt, Manhasset ceased to be a 'walking' community.

One of the attractions of senior housing at Christ Church is that the condominiums would be 'walker-friendly.' Within a 10 minute walk of the proposed condominium is a grocery store, an office supply store, a small department store, four churches, a library, three drug stores, six dry cleaners, a post office, three specialty food stores, two coffee shops, six restaurants, a wine and spirits store, two shoe repair stores, seven banks, an ice cream store and numerous other shops and services.

I had not focused on the school issue until the community meeting and listened to the short but heated debate with perplexity. Reality is that people move to Manhasset for the excellent schools. Therefore, each family without children that moves from Manhasset will be, generally, replaced by a family with children. Since many older residents who no longer need a large home sell their homes and move away, there will be a regular, small increase in the school census year-to-year. Any meaningful increase in the school census caused by senior housing at Christ Church would be limited to the first year of the condominium. So, the question is: why not have a place for them in the community close to friends and family? Furthermore, an upscale condominium would add significant tax revenue for the schools and local government from a property that has never paid property taxes due to its exempt status for religious purposes. Any new residents moving in with children would assume the tax burden of those who have moved out; overall this would be a good cost-benefit for all Manhasset's taxpayers.

Although Christ Church is not a co-developer of the property, it is deeply interested in what any development would be like. Mr. Puntillo has been responsive to suggestions we have made about the property we are selling and its use. I urge people to speak with Mr. Puntillo about their concerns and suggestions for the property and the senior housing project.

The Very Reverend David B. Lowry, PhD.