Responding to concerns by both Roslyn area residents and Planning Board members, Forest City Daly personnel announced several size reductions in the senior housing development they have proposed for the 11 acres of land off Skillman Street.

At last Thursday's Planning Board meeting, Michael Daly, president of Forest City Daly, said the entire size of the building project would be reduced slightly from 286,000 sq. ft. to 270,000 sq. ft. Originally, all the buildings on the site were projected to be three stories in height with the exception of the bridge between buildings.

The sizes of some of the buildings have been reduced. The building closest to the viaduct, Mr. Daly said, is now planned to be two stories in height. In addition, the company has shortened all three wings of the proposed Dependent Living building. The Assisted Living building, the structure closest to Roslyn Harbor, has now been reduced in planned size to one story.

The entire building project, Mr. Daly added, has been set back an additional 13 feet from the property line, from 20 feet to 33 feet. Finally, the office building on Bryant Avenue has been reduced in its projected size, from 10,000 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft.

But one building, the bridge between living sites, has increased in size, from one story to three stories. This building, Mr. Daly said, would stand directly behind a proposed tennis court, making it the least visible of all the buildings.

At the meeting, Mr. Daly also said that his company's maintenance and real estate taxes would still be dedicated to public spaces, including a park. In all, Mr. Daly said the entire building project would fit in with the physical layout of Roslyn. He called the senior housing development a "transitional building" between the retail part and downtown sections of Roslyn and the area where Roslyn becomes more rural in nature.

In recent weeks and months, some Roslyn Board of Trustee members have reminded their audiences that the current land space has been zoned for senior housing. Still, members of the Planning Board and local residents have expressed concern over both the size of the proposed project and as often is the case, possible traffic problems. One resident called the housing plan "the biggest thing in Roslyn since Stop & Shop." Last summer, an organization called the Coalition for the Preservation of Historic Roslyn was formed to oppose the development.

At the meeting, Planning Board member Guy Ladd Frost noted the "height, massiveness and scale" of the proposed project.

Compared to other buildings in Roslyn, its size, according to Mr. Frost, is "incredible," in all, four times as as big as the Claremont Hotel.

The buildings, he added, should be moved even farther east, away from the water. The developer, Mr. Frost said, should "leave the waterfront alone." In addition, any construction, Mr. Frost said, should not go east of the truck depot by the viaduct. He urged developers to "give residents in Roslyn Harbor more breathing room."

Susan Shaw, also a member of the Planning Board, said Daly is "moving in the right direction" by reducing a three-story building down to two stories. At earlier meetings, Ms. Shaw expressed unhappiness over the size of the project. She noted that the proposed 10,000 sq. ft. administrative building, what she thought would be a "small building" now looked like "corporate headquarters." After remarking that 10,000 sq. ft. was "pretty alarming" for such a building, Mr. Daly said the size could be reduced to 3,500 sq. ft.

Roslyn Village Deputy Mayor Nolan Myerson asked Mr. Daly if the revised size of the buildings is what the company needs to make the project work. Mr. Daly said that the current projects were necessary to make the company's $12 million investment in the project viable.

Ben Corwin, Roslyn Harbor deputy mayor, said his village wants to be notified on any environmental impact standards made on the project. All construction south of viaduct, he said, "will impact every community in the area."

Erica Rubrum, a local resident who has had questions about the project's size at previous meetings said she appreciates what changes Forest City Daly has made so far. Still, she added that such reductions amount to less than 5 percent of the total projected size. Ms. Rubrum also wondered why the administrative building was reduced to 4,000 sq. ft. and not 3,500 sq. ft. as she was led to believe. Mr. Daly said that the proposed size was necessary to accommodate company personnel. He reiterated that the three story building in question is on a portion of the site that no one will see unless they are in the waterfront park.

In addition to the housing units, the proposed development would contain a public park with pedestrain and bicycle paths, large open green fields, a children's playground, a wildlife pond, fishing sports, a variety of seating along walking paths and "spectacular vistas" of Hempstead Harbor.