Planning Board Approves Glen Cove Piazza

cc August 11, 2011 at 11:02 am

Money talks the rest walk. Hey Nick how much for your building?

lookyloo August 11, 2011 at 12:46 pm

Time to get the freak out of Glen Cove.

cc August 11, 2011 at 01:16 pm

Who put the planning board in place? Remember when you vote in November.

pocopazzo August 11, 2011 at 01:25 pm

I was born in Glen Cove and now I want to the get the freak out, too. It sux more and more every day.

sam August 11, 2011 at 01:38 pm

WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING GC.YOUR GOING TO BUILD WHERE THERE IS TRAFFIC AND MAINE ONE WAY OUT OF GC PLUS THE EMERGENCY STATIONS MAINE HUB.SORRY I WAS BORN AND RAISED HERE,MY GREATGREAT-GRANDMOTHER HAD A BUTCHER SHOP HERE,MY DAD,GRANDFATHERS,UNCLES WORKED FOR THE PRATTS,THEY WERE FIREMAN.YOUR RUINING THE GOLD COAST,SAD SO SAD,WERE LEAVING THE END OF SEPT AND NOT SURE IF I WOULD WANT TO COME BACK AND VISIT.
THE AREA IS GOING TO BE INSANE AND MOST OF ALL DANGEROUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE GO BACK TO THE TABLE &RE-THINK:(

John Jay August 11, 2011 at 01:40 pm

$60 million of private funds invested into replacing a group of old quanset huts. This sounds to good to be true! What's the catch?

cc August 11, 2011 at 02:00 pm

How can we get this put to a vote by the people it will effect? This is almost as big a scam as the waterfront. The ferry to nowhere. Plus all the other Suozzi schemes over the last 25 years.

John Cocchiola August 11, 2011 at 02:26 pm

John Jay, how long have you been in town? "Where's the catch?" is what they said when the parking garages were built, when your "quanset huts" were built, when the Brewster Street apartments were built, when Urban Renewal changed our downtown for the worse. There's always a catch, we have a town full of empty monuments to past catches. Where are all of the new people going to work anyway? I guess they can get jobs at Photocircuits, or Pall Corporation, or Konica I guess. Oh wait, no they can't. They aren't here anymore.

pocopazzo August 11, 2011 at 03:03 pm

Do any of the people who profit from these project live in Glen Cove? I hate this dump!

John LB August 11, 2011 at 03:32 pm

As a resident of the only other extremely corrupt city in Nassau County (Long Beach), I can tell you that the only way to change any of this is to change the people responsible for allowing these things to happen. There is an election in November; vote Suozzi out. He has full control of the “Planning Board” as he appoints them. He instituted a “moratorium” when he first took office and taxpaying Glen Cove residents are still tied up trying to get their properties subdivided or approval to build a new structure and they are making no headway. Yet, they, with the blessing of the Mayor who doesn’t even own a home in Glen Cove, will allow Glen Cove to turn into Co-Op City? Wake up people! Get involved in the political process!

Catuzza August 11, 2011 at 03:53 pm

A few years ago a survey was sent out from the City of Glen Cove to all its residents. Its results showed that the residents did NOT want a raise in population! I can see how that has been taken into consideration with all the new development in the last years!
Is this supposed to be democratic? Or it is more the result of the pressure of a few? Who is the planning board working for? The citizens or the developers?

cc August 11, 2011 at 03:56 pm

FOLLOW THE MONEY. OUR ONLY HOPE IS TO MAKE A BIG ENOUGH STINK AND STANDUP TO POWER BROKERS WHO FUND THE POLITICIANS. LETS TAKE BACK OUR CITY AND REVERSE THIS DECISION TO DESTROY IT. THE ONLY WAY IS TO VOTE OUT EVERY MEMBER OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT THAT HAS SUCKED US DRY.

John LB August 11, 2011 at 04:00 pm

Catuzza, the Planning Board works for the person who appoints them which in this case is the Mayor. Sure, they say they are independent but let’s face it, how many people with absolutely no political ties get appointed to any of these boards or commissions? It is very nice that the people of Glen Cove don’t want an increase in population but I suggest you think about that as Glen Cove is financially in the red. That means that the City must raise revenues or decrease expenditures or both, and we all know government is not good at either; and that means, without a doubt, a tax increase for residents. If homes are built that means they will be taxed too and will likely ease the tax burden placed on you.

John Cocchiola August 11, 2011 at 04:06 pm

They always tell us that adding population will keep taxes lower; they say the tax burden will be shared by more people. Well, how come rural areas pay a tiny fraction of the property taxes more developed areas pay? We'll eventually need more police, teachers, sanitation, etc., and it winds up costing more. The justification seems to be NY City's property taxes are lower than Nassau County's, but New York makes up for it other ways. There is a 4% NY City Income tax, there are hotel taxes, restaurant taxes, taxi taxes, etc. Someone I know just bought a home outside of Hilton Head, North Carolina. It's more than 3,000 square feet, it has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and a built in swimming pool, apparently, it's a palace on a nice piece of property. His property taxes are $1,600 a year. If that house was here, anywhere in Nassau County, my hunch is the property taxes would easily be higher than $30,000. That's quite a difference, and it's pretty tough to justify the astronomical property taxes we pay. I don't think adding tons of apartments will lower our taxes, it will raise them.

John LB August 11, 2011 at 04:25 pm

More people will not necessarily lower the tax burden, they can make it higher (illegal rentals) but more structures will lower the tax burden because it is divided among more households. In addition, commercial properties pay higher taxes than residential properties. And you are absolutely right about your friend’s home in North Carolina; the taxes probably would be $30k here (which is ludicrous). I am not saying that I am in favor of this building debacle; rather I am saying that there is something very wrong with this picture when a builder can get approved to revamp a neighborhood and build apartment buildings but a person can’t get the green light to subdivide their property from this very same Planning Board. Corrupt politicians ruined this County. It is up to the residents of Glen Cove to stop allowing corrupt politicians to ruin their city or to allow it to continue.

John Cocchiola August 11, 2011 at 04:34 pm

I own commercial and residential property in Glen Cove, you're right, I know there's a difference in the rates. I've been living in this city my entire life, and it just seems like every other promise, every other plan, it turns to nothing and empty buildings. The "city" designation has people fooled, this is a small town, we need smaller solutions. I don't know where all of these new people will find employment, they're using hair of the dog remedies to fix their mistake from decades ago. I understand the reasoning, it's tough to say "no" to someone that wants to dump money into the town, I just worry about what it will turn into. We were once told those Brewster Street apartments were going to be filled with young professionals, they were "luxury apartments", we were told a lot of things. Well, it seemed okay for a while, but there aren't many professionals in there anymore, that's for sure. Make the area more appealing to business by lowering the taxes, they'll come. We need to provide opportunities before housing, we always seem to put the cart before the horse.

John Cocchiola August 11, 2011 at 04:37 pm

Of course the other problems is, empty structures don't pay taxes. There isn't any shortage of empty in Glen Cove.

cc August 11, 2011 at 04:45 pm

What happened to the sitting mayors master plan? I hope he has a resume ready as the public wakes up to what he has done to the city. Wake up Glen Cove let's take back our city NOW, before it is too late.

John LB August 11, 2011 at 05:01 pm

I thought all structures paid taxes, filled or not, perhaps I am misinformed? It is a small town and you’re right, small town solutions are needed. You are also correct about the lack of consistency in governmental promises; with that being said, I don’t know one person who believes in government of any type these days. Like I said, I live in Long Beach and albeit run by corrupt politicians, Long Beach is thriving; AND it is equally as out-of -the-way as Glen Cove is. Think about it, why would any young professional move to a luxury apartment in Glen Cove? Why would anyone other than people who live there travel to Glen Cove? What’s there for people to do? Nothing is open late, the night life sucks and there isn’t a plethora of decent restaurants. Those reasons will automatically steer young professionals away from living there. The school district does not have a good reputation which will steer young families away from wanting to raise a family there. The fact that only diesel trains go to Glen Cove (which means that you always have to switch at Jamaica) will steer commuters away. While I agree that ALL politicians use “hair of the dog remedies to fix their mistakes from decades ago” what do you think the solution is for Glen Cove? How can it be made a better or more desirable place to live?

pocopazzo August 11, 2011 at 05:17 pm

John LB, Long Beach has a direct LIRR train and not the Oyster Bay Choo Choo.

John Cocchiola August 11, 2011 at 05:25 pm

Some of the properties are abandoned. Here's a blog I did a few months ago, scroll through the pictures. They're a little depressing.
http://glencove.patch.com/blog_posts/adapt-to-overcome

sam August 11, 2011 at 05:30 pm

The more comments I read the more ????? COME ON GLEN COVERS TAKE THIS ONCE BEAUTIFUL LITTLE TOWN BACK!!!!

pocopazzo August 11, 2011 at 06:21 pm

Anybody have a bull-horn?

LT August 11, 2011 at 11:58 pm

Think is about time we, the taxpayers and residents of this town take this fight directly to Mayor Suozzi. Enough is enough!!! Instead of helping raise this city up, he is digging its grave. Taking a once great city...the original Gold Coast, and making it the joke of Long Island. We do not need more tacky, empty apartment complexes, with section 8/low income housing that strains an already over taxed system. They add nothing, and spend nothing. What we need are middle income housing, favorable tax incentives to lure new businesses, and a commitment to our schools, which will lure more families to the area. Let's pick a night and show the Mayor just how serious we are. Then in November vote out EVERY SINGLE member of our corrupt local government.

Catuzza August 12, 2011 at 01:33 pm

Low demand + adding to the inventory= depreciation= lower property values.
Lower property values = more low income people settling in. More low income people = more need for assistance for uninsured, non-english speaking, help for disadvantaged kids, etc. and less tax revenue. This is the reality we experience, not hip young professionals. In what way again are more dwellings going to help Glen Cove economy?

John Cocchiola August 12, 2011 at 01:53 pm

Glen Cove is obviously not a great place for commuters, it's isolated, there aren't good roads in or out and we have a lousy train line. The answer is always the ferry, but they're not cost efficient, energy efficient or reliable. People aren't going to pass by some of shopping areas on Long Island to come here and buy stuff either, for some of the same reasons. We're a dead end. I think instead of hail marys, we need small solutions. Make Glen Cove more inhabitable for local business and residents. If taxes had been kept at reasonable rates, business would do better, there would be more jobs here instead of out of town. Before all of the urban renewal and big city planning, Glen Cove had a completely different vibe. It was a lot better, and that's not just me being nostalgic. Through the 1970s, we didn't need to go out of town to Christmas shop, the village was really all we needed. Taxes went up, rents went up, old stores closed, in my opinion it was tragic. Instead of recognizing their mistakes, our government doubles down on them, they try for the big solutions, which hasn't worked yet. It's time to focus on what's here. It's good to dream, it's nice to have dreams of what we could be, but we really need to have a grasp of our realities.

John Cocchiola August 12, 2011 at 01:55 pm

http://glencove.patch.com/blog_posts/what-went-wrong

Gerald Chiariello II August 12, 2011 at 02:13 pm

I grew up in Roslyn Harbor and after I married, I moved to Glen Cove in 1997. I recently moved my law practice from Queens to Glen Cove, so I have a vested interest in trying to improve this City. Far and away, the single greatest concern I have for the future of Glen Cove stems from the singular manner in which this City is run. The Mayor and the Council are elected together and generally walk in lock-step with each other. No checks and balances. This unbridled authority and control is dangerous and completely contrary to the constitutional form of governance contemplated by our founding fathers. Surely a City government with separate, or at least staggered, elections for the Mayor and City Council would yield some dissent, fair debate and compromise - no matter which party is in control. Without some checks and balances, Glen Cove is doomed to follow the whim of those in power through the mayor, council and appointees, Republican or Democrat. As such, I would hope for a mayoral candidate that would yield his total control by allowing such a system of checks and balances by separate elections. I do not know the current positions of Mayor Suozzi nor Mr. Meli on this topic, but I believe they should make them known to the public.
I have realized my error in not attending council meetings as often as possible and will try better in the future. The rest of Glen Cove needs to get involved or stop complaining. Sorry for the rant. Gerry Chiariello

katie baiata August 22, 2011 at 02:29 am

oh man i am almost afraid to write this but here goes. real question: who has the time to spearhead a turnaround? i unfortunately dont but i would love to jump on the bandwagon to radical yet reasonable change. everyone has great ideas so c'mon someone do it and set up a team- ill be on your team. yeah yeah, i know we need people to go to meetings, lots of people. well this team leader can be our recruiter. get the facts written down, with this sheet hit the streets hard, at events, neighborhood door-to-door, grocery stores- all like the eager politicians. set a date during an important meeting that people know is the date to come together to begin. cross fingers. ok so who is up for it?

Brooke D August 24, 2011 at 03:14 am

Just incase people on this thread forgot about how they were 'overlooked' if not completely ignored ... time to get out act together. I just saw this on Patch and thought that you'd want to know.
http://glencove.patch.com/events/purchase-tickets-to-the-take-back-glen-cove-bbq