Subcontractors hired by Forest City Daly, the company that hopes to build 250 units of senior housing in Roslyn, have begun a voluntary cleanup of the site off Skillman Street.

According to Michael Daly, president of Forest City Daly, the site was previously occupied by a combination of oil depots and asphalt plants through the late 1970s and early '80s. The property has been abandoned due to its contamination since the early '80s.

About four years ago, Forest City began discussions with the New York State Department of Conservation regarding participation in their Voluntary Cleanup Program. The program, Mr. Daly said, was created to encourage private investment in cleaning up environmentally contaminated sites.

Mr. Daly said the cleanup, which began last month, is being "entirely paid for by Forest City Daly Housing." The essence of the agreement with the State DEC provides a pre-determined cleanup protocol which enabled Forest City to move forward with the cleanup with a pre-established cleanup standard agreed to by the DEC. The DEC also provides protection from future lawsuits requiring developers to perform cleanup activities beyond the scope of the agreement.

Mr. Daly added that he expected the cleanup to last for another two to three months. The entire project is under "continuous supervision" by the DEC. "We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to work on this project with the intergovernmental support which includes the Village of Roslyn's mayor and board of trustees and other boards, the New York DEC and the Army Corps," Mr. Daly said. Such help, he added, will "not only bring this property back to productive use, but also create Roslyn's newest waterfront park."

Representatives from Forest City, including Mr. Daly, have participated in numerous public meetings over the past year in order to gain approval for their development. Last winter, the company received approval from the Board of Trustees, the Planning Board and the Site Review Board.

While gaining the approval of those bodies, Forest City made some compromises, agreeing, for instance, to cut the size of the development from 10,000 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft. The number of units was reduced also, from 260 to 250. Buildings that were scheduled to be three stories high were reduced to two stories in height. Buildings were also moved back from the waterfront. Finally, the firm agreed to pay sums of money for the village's Sewer Trust Fund, monies for the general "maintenance, repair and construction of public improvements" in the village, and the building of an easement running over and across the property and along the waterfront to Bryant Avenue. Forest City has already spent $700,000 purchasing land for the village that previously belonged to the Town of North Hempstead.

Recently, Forest City received approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals for a height variance. All that is left for final approval is the go-ahead from the Historic District Board for the development's architectural features. At a recent meeting, HDB members had questions mostly about visual and environmental impacts on the village.