Massapequa Park Village Board held a public hearing to consider a site plan for Golden Age Housing at Whitewood Landing this past Monday.

Mayor Camillo Giannattasio began the hearing by explaining to the full room of people at Village Hall that the Massapequa Park Planning Commission has been studying this project for Whitewood Landing, on Whitewood Drive, for two years. Giannattasio then introduced the chairman of the Planning Commission, John Bianco, to report on the findings of the commission.

According to Bianco, when he was first appointed to the Planning Commission by Mayor George Nussbaum in 1985, his first assignment was the vacant land on Whitewood Drive. Bianco noted that in those 14 years the Planning Commission had seen a lot of proposals before Robert Havasy and Bernie Lavender approached them two years ago about building senior housing under the state's Golden Age District Law.

Since Havasy and Lavender approached the village, the planning commission has met with them several times to review plans and address questions raised by residents of the village. Bianco stated, "We now feel that a site plan has been developed, with the cooperation of the developer, Mr. Havasy and Mr. Lavender, that will serve the needs of the community and which has given serious consideration to the needs of the future residents and the concerns of the surrounding residents and neighbors to this development." He then invited residents to go to the developer's site in Seaford, Cedar Cove, to which, he said, Whitewood Landing would be very similar, if not nicer.

Havasy, a partner in the development group called Whitewood Landing Associates, LLC, then spoke to those gathered about the site plan. The site plan is for a 52-unit community. The units will have two bedrooms, one and a half baths, 73 parking spaces, washers, dryers, decks, and central air conditioning. The extra perks such as the washer/dryer and central air conditioning would be standard and would not cost the residents any additional money. Havasy stated that they currently expect the price of the units to be approximately $149,000. The development also features a centrally located community room for the residents to socialize in.

Many residents, both senior citizens interested in the development and community members who have homes bordering the development, had questions for the developer and the board.

Of major concern to some of the older residents was what people would be eligible for the housing and how those people would be selected. Giannattasio explained that the task of setting the criteria for occupancy had been delegated to the planning commission. All residents must be 62 years or older. Havasy noted that what usually happens in a case like this is that village residents would get first priority and if any of the 52 units remained, residents outside of the village but still in the Massapequa School District would have an opportunity to buy a unit; if there are any remaining units they might then be opened to Town of Oyster Bay residents and then to the general public. Giannattasio stated his belief that they would not get past offering the units to village residents.

Another question raised by a resident was whether or not there would be monthly fees for the residents and what would be included in those fees. Havasy said that there would be a monthly fee which would probably run somewhere between $230-$290 and would include maintenance and real estate taxes.

The units, noted Havasy, in answer to one of the questions, are each one level but are placed one on top of the other in most cases. He pointed to one block of units that consisted of eight units on top of eight units.

In answer to questions about handicapped accessibility, Havasy explained that the downstairs units would be handicapped accessible and that all the units would have doorways large enough to fit a wheelchair through, but noted that the community was intended for healthy ambulatory residents. He added that if a resident was handicapped they could put in a special request for a shower without a bathtub to make showering easier. The stairways leading up to the second story units, Havasy said in answer to another question, are wide enough for a chair lift if at some point in the future a resident of an upstairs unit becomes handicapped.

Garbage was also a concern to residents. Many people questioned why there was only one dumpster and how difficult would it be for residents who are not quite as ambulatory to reach that dumpster. Havasy noted that this set-up works well in their other senior developments.

Neighbors of the development expressed concerns about traffic from the development affecting the area. Many people stated their displeasure at the fact that a turning lane that residents had requested was not mentioned in the plan. One resident pointed out that Local Law 3 came about in 1991 because of the residents' request for this turning lane. The board stated that the turning lane is being considered by Nassau County because Merrick Road is a county road and the turn lane required by Local Law 3 is not wide enough. Several residents questioned why this had to be brought to the county in the first place and it was once again explained that Merrick Road was a county road and it is a county traffic signal thus the county must approve the turning lane despite the fact that the village's law requires that turning lane to be put in. One member of the board pointed out that the county may determine that the turning lane required in Local Law 3 may not be legal or safe and that until they make that determination the lane will be put on hold.

Havasy noted that they plan to be able to open the development for occupancy by Labor Day in 2000. The village planning commission hopes to have a recommendation about eligibility for the units by Aug. 1 and noted that those requirements and details about how people can sign up for these units will be published once a determination is made.