The village asked New York Governor Cuomo to come to them about the new home for the Islanders professional hockey team new home….
Cuomo has been a no show….
The state has gone ahead and approved the project with construction due to begin in weeks….
The suit filed in State Supreme Court asks that a further environmental review be conducted before the project goes ahead…The Village thinks the project would strain its resources…The project is in solely Elmont, but access to the location would be thru Floral Park’s Village for some….The Village is thought NOT slated to get any revenue in-lieu-of-taxes from the state owned property…Elmont schools will….
Lawsuits against the project were expected….
The Village of Floral Park filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging state approvals given to the Belmont Park redevelopment project.
The Article 78 lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court claims that Empire State Development failed to address the concerns of Floral Park residents and failed to mitigate the “very real negative consequences” to the village resulting from the “massive size and scope” of the $1.3 billion project, according to a statement from Floral Park Mayor Dominick Longobardi. The court action is seeking new environmental impact studies on the redevelopment.
The 100-page lawsuit also seeks a halt to any further construction at the site “until the appropriate environmental review has been completed.”
Developers New York Arena Partners have already begun site work at Belmont Park in preparation for construction on a 19,000-seat arena, hotel and retail complex on about 43 acres of racetrack property.
“We are firm in our conviction that the commencement of this litigation now was unfortunately our last recourse and is required to ensure that the suburban character of our community is not negatively impacted for decades to come,” Longobardi said in the statement. “While the village remains willing to work cooperatively with the state to address our residents’ legitimate concerns, promised initial meetings with the state have been continually held off while construction of the project moves forward.”
Village officials have long complained that the Belmont redevelopment, which brings a new home for the New York Islanders, was too big and would result in stifling traffic to area roads, causing delays for first responders and law enforcement and threatening the safety of residents.
“Our police force and emergency services will be overburdened trying to deal with the extra traffic,” Longobardi told LIBN late last year. “We’re not against the Islanders. We just think the development is too large for the site and they should rethink the size of the project and its impact on the quality of life for our residents and our neighbors in surrounding communities.”…
home.
