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  #21  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2009, 1:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Busy Bee View Post
Looks worse than something built in China. This developer needs to take a trip to Northern Europe or the UK to get some better taste.
I think it's ok for where it is. I only wish the tower itself were designed to look more like an actual lighthouse, like the original version. Otherwise, I don't get why they don't change the name.


newsday.com


http://www.property.lk/main/images/s...duba/kpf/5.jpg
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  #22  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2009, 4:24 PM
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That overhead rendering shows that this will be like any other subdivision. It's not going to be walkable and there are not going to be that many people walking around the complex other than people walking from the parking lots to the arena or the shops.
     
     
  #23  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2009, 4:33 PM
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^Agree 100%. That's its flaw. Its not a true urban development, its an isolated pod of high-density that sorta looks city like, but like Universal Studios is really just fakery built on a parking deck.
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  #24  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2009, 6:05 PM
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not a fan. looks like a planned office park or something.... the "canal" is nothing more than a 100m pond
     
     
  #25  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2009, 11:24 PM
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I think it's fine for where it is. Looking at the surroundings, there's not much more they could have done, especially if they want to get it built. It will likely only attract people from outside the area on game days (other than special events). But there is enough of a residential component there to keep the central area populated.
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  #26  
Old Posted Aug 4, 2009, 2:11 AM
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Originally Posted by NYguy View Post
I think it's ok for where it is. I only wish the tower itself were designed to look more like an actual lighthouse, like the original version. Otherwise, I don't get why they don't change the name.


newsday.com


http://www.property.lk/main/images/s...duba/kpf/5.jpg
The Towers look very similar to the Westin Diplomat Hotel & Resort in Hollywood Beach, Fl..., Could it be the same architect ? Very Nice design...,
     
     
  #27  
Old Posted Oct 2, 2009, 5:36 AM
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http://www.reuters.com/article/sport...5906RR20091002

NY Islanders ink new arena deal

Oct 2, 2009


The New York Islanders hockey team and Nassau County on Thursday said they had a deal to modernize the arena where the team plays as part of $3.8 billion project that includes a hotel, offices and a convention center.
"Unlike almost every sports arena deal across the country, the county is not paying any taxpayer money to build the new facility," Democratic County Executive Tom Suozzi said in statement.

The $320 million overhaul of Nassau County's Veterans Memorial Coliseum will be privately financed; the team will pay $1.5 million a year in rent, plus annual hikes for inflation.

Team Owner Charles Wang had threatened to move the team if no deal was reached by October 3, the start of the Islanders' playing season.

The accord locks the team into staying in Nassau County, which lies just east of New York City, until July 31, 2030.

Wang partnered with the Lighthouse Development Group on the complex, which includes a new athletic center.

Nassau County owns the arena but the Town of Hempstead would have to rezone the land for the new complex, which includes 1 million square feet of offices and 2,300 condominiums, lofts and townhouses, a Lighthouse spokeswoman said.

Twenty percent of those homes would be set aside for low-income residents. The developers will spend about $55 million to improve roads, link the arena to the local train station and ferry people around the complex in a trolley.

About 75,000 construction workers will be hired over the eight to 10 years it will take to build the project, which is expected to create about 19,000 permanent jobs.

The Islanders owner has tried to reach an arena deal for eight years, and responding to complaints from local residents about earlier plans, pared the height of the tallest tower planned to about 35 stories from 60 stories.

At 450 feet, the new tower would be Long Island's tallest building, the Lighthouse spokeswoman said. Currently, Long Island's tallest structure is a 385-foot smokestack.


The National Hockey League team last week played an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Kings in Kansas City; some analysts and fans viewed that game as a bid by Wang to pressure Nassau County into approving the arena plan.

Many analysts consider Nassau Coliseum the worst in the NHL and the team suffers from weak attendance.

Analysts and sports bankers have speculated that the NHL needs to eliminate several teams, especially in the struggling nontraditional southeast markets. The Phoenix Coyotes team filed for bankruptcy in May.

But NHL officials have denied a contraction will take place and said the sport is healthy financially, experiencing record overall revenue and attendance last season.

(Reporting by Joan Gralla in New York and Ben Klayman in Chicago; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
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  #28  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2009, 6:21 AM
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Glad to see this project finally getting approved, especially since it seemed dead for the past year or so. Thanks NYGuy for the update.

I really like the current lighthouse building but I thought the first version was the best. I hope they put the building with a ball on top somewhere else in the city! I thought I read that there was going to be a monorail going thru the complex, is that so? I for one actually like the canal. Even though its basically a pond, it is a nice design.

I do wish 2 things were different 1. less parking lots 2. Wang didn't cave into the NIMBYS and lower the building height.
     
     
  #29  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2009, 11:25 AM
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Can any project be considered enviromentally friendly, that has parking for thousands of cars?
     
     
  #30  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2009, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Rail>Auto View Post
I do wish 2 things were different 1. less parking lots 2. Wang didn't cave into the NIMBYS and lower the building height.
I wish it looked less like a shopping mall, but you have to consider where it is.
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  #31  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 11:55 PM
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http://www.newsday.com/long-island/n...ders-1.1502971

Queens first in line to make pitch for Wang's Islanders

October 5, 2009
By EDEN LAIKIN AND JIM BAUMBACH


Charles Wang said this weekend he's ready to "explore all options" for his New York Islanders and the proposed Lighthouse project.

The executive vice president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce said Monday the search should begin in his borough.

"Option Number One should be Queens," Jack Friedman said. "We are ready for him."

Friedman renewed his contention that a new home for the Islanders would be the perfect centerpiece in the city's plans for the Willets Point area. Groundbreaking probably won't take place for another four or five years, he said, which dovetails nicely with the Islanders' lease, which stipulates the team must play at Nassau Coliseum through 2015.

Wang could not be reached for comment Monday, but Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi - a major proponent of the Lighthouse - said he thinks "there will be many municipalities that are going to go out of their way to roll out the red carpet [for Wang].

"It's absurd that the Town of Hempstead wouldn't do the same thing," he said.


City development officials said they have not been approached by Wang but would welcome discussing the Islanders' future with him.

Sources close to Wang say he also has received an offer from "politicians in Brooklyn" to facilitate a move there.

Hempstead's town board must approve new zoning for the project, a proposed mixed-use development on 77 acres around a renovated Coliseum. Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican, has said there still are unanswered questions about traffic, water and density.

On Friday, Wang accepted a request from Murray to discuss "amending the project."

Monday, Murray said, "Mr. Wang made it clear he was going to explore his options and so we're not surprised. The town is going to remain focused on reasonable development at the Coliseum site."

Friedman said the 62-acre site in Queens would be a perfect fit for the Lighthouse as it has access to "the Long Island Rail Road, the subway system, the airports. It already has a huge parking lot because of Citi Field. It already has the parkway access."

Friedman said he sent Wang a letter in March and never received a response. At the time, the Islanders released a statement saying they were focused only on working with the town.

That's changed now.

Wang set this past Saturday - the Islanders' opening day - as his deadline for "certainty" on the project. It passed without a decision from Hempstead so Wang announced he would begin exploring his options.

He added he would continue negotiations with the town.


Town officials have said they wouldn't be swayed by an applicant's self-imposed deadline.

Democrat Kristen McElroy, Murray's political opponent for supervisor, said Murray "is pushing the Islanders out of the Town of Hempstead." McElroy said if she were supervisor, building the Lighthouse project would be her "Number One priority."

Friedman said early plans for the Willets Point area include a 400,000-square-foot convention center that could become a new arena for the Islanders.

"So the footprint is already there," he said. "There's also many of the things Wang wanted in his Lighthouse project - hotels, family entertainment centers, restaurants."
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  #32  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2009, 1:51 AM
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I thought the deal was signed,sealed, and delivered on Oct 2? Now Wang is talking to Queens. What gives?
     
     
  #33  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2009, 6:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Rail>Auto View Post
I thought the deal was signed,sealed, and delivered on Oct 2? Now Wang is talking to Queens. What gives?
The deal was with the county...

Quote:
The New York Islanders hockey team and Nassau County on Thursday said they had a deal to modernize the arena where the team plays as part of $3.8 billion project that includes a hotel, offices and a convention center.

Team Owner Charles Wang had threatened to move the team if no deal was reached by October 3, the start of the Islanders' playing season.

Nassau County owns the arena but the Town of Hempstead would have to rezone the land for the new complex, which includes 1 million square feet of offices and 2,300 condominiums, lofts and townhouses, a Lighthouse spokeswoman said.
But the Town of Hempstead (which operates much the same as the City of New York) would have to act...

Quote:
Wang could not be reached for comment Monday, but Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi - a major proponent of the Lighthouse - said he thinks "there will be many municipalities that are going to go out of their way to roll out the red carpet [for Wang].

"It's absurd that the Town of Hempstead wouldn't do the same thing," he said.

......Hempstead's town board must approve new zoning for the project, a proposed mixed-use development on 77 acres around a renovated Coliseum. Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican, has said there still are unanswered questions about traffic, water and density.

On Friday, Wang accepted a request from Murray to discuss "amending the project."

Monday, Murray said, "Mr. Wang made it clear he was going to explore his options and so we're not surprised. The town is going to remain focused on reasonable development at the Coliseum site."
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  #34  
Old Posted Oct 16, 2009, 4:27 AM
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http://www.longislandpress.com/2009/...on-lighthouse/

Press Exclusive: Plug Is Pulled On Lighthouse
Wang is walking away from project after five-year battle


Sources say Charles Wang is tired of playing the game, and has abandoned the Lighthouse project inside his company. No public announcement has been made.


Written by Michael M. Martino, Jr.
Oct 14th, 2009


Darkness has fallen around the Lighthouse.

A source has informed the Long Island Press that, although there has been no public announcement, the ambitious Lighthouse Project has already been abandoned internally by New York Islanders team owner Charles Wang.

The source has also indicated that reorganization has already begun within Wang’s company, reassigning some top-level executives who have been key members of the Lighthouse initiative to work on other unrelated projects.

The news became the hot topic on sports talk shows and lit blogs and the Twitterverse on fire.

One source says it would not be surprising, given Wang’s self-imposed deadline of Oct. 3 to have an approval from Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and the Town Board before he would put an end to the project. The Islanders opened up their season the day the deadline came and went.

The lack of financing for a project of this scale in this economic climate—the largest development since the birth of Levittown in the 1940s and ’50s—may be reason enough for Wang to pull the plug, says the source. Using the deadline may have been a tactic to enable him to gracefully bow out of the controversial project.

Lighthouse spokesman Paul Lancey had no comment. Nor did officials from the Town of Hempstead or Wang’s development partner RXR.

The Lighthouse Project has been touted by several organizations such as the Long Island Association (LIA) and the Long Island Regional Planning Board (LIRPB) as well as countless politicians and citizens as the single most important development project facing the region.

The joint venture between Charles Wang and Scott Rechler, chief executive officer of RXR, has faced many political hurdles, including a five-year standstill with Nassau County officials followed by a slow-moving zoning process in the Town of Hempstead over the last year.

Wang bought the Islanders in 2000. Since first being proposed in 2003, the Lighthouse has undergone intense scrutiny from environmentalists and politicians, reaching a fever pitch in recent months with allegations that Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Murray and former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato have all played key roles in stalling progress.
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  #35  
Old Posted Oct 16, 2009, 1:17 PM
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http://www.newsday.com/long-island/n...rong-1.1524982

Wang: Lighthouse still on, report is wrong

October 15, 2009
By EDEN LAIKIN AND RANDI F. MARSHALL


Even as New York Islanders owner Charles Wang said Thursday that a report that he was ending efforts to build the Lighthouse project was untrue, anger simmered among several of his most vocal supporters after it took a full 19 hours for any official response.

Yet as Lighthouse officials did damage control Thursday, they may have taken a baby step toward getting something built on the site surrounding the Nassau Coliseum. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said Thursday that she called Wang, telling him she was happy he wasn't abandoning the project and offering to meet with him to discuss "scaling down" the project in an effort to find "commonality."

In a letter sent to Wang Thursday, Murray argued that modifying the project could resolve some of the town's environmental concerns, "making it possible for the town board to more promptly provide the certainty that you are seeking."

Wang hopes to build a $3.8-billion mixed-use development that would include a $320-million renovation to Nassau Coliseum, along with 42 buildings containing residential, retail and office space. He had set Oct. 3 as a deadline for "certainty," but has not yet received zoning approval from the town.

Wang repeated Thursday that he is awaiting a "yes or no decision" from the town.

"We don't want to negotiate this through the press," he said.


The flurry of activity began Wednesday afternoon, when the Long Island Press, citing an unnamed source, reported online that Wang was pulling the plug on the Lighthouse project and had reorganized his staff, moving people off the Lighthouse and onto other assignments.

A source close to Wang said Thursday that no one was fired and no one was reassigned. The source noted that some Islanders staffers have recently moved from the team's Plainview office to the Coliseum.

On Wednesday, Lighthouse officials did not return calls, e-mails or text messages and did not make an official statement until late Thursday morning. The silence drew ire from Islanders fans and other supporters, who posted their reaction on blogs and on Twitter.

"I realize it's a business deal, but people have taken days off from work in order to go to these meetings, people have written and signed petitions, they have done everything they can to support this and they felt abandoned," said North Bellmore resident Nick Giglia, 24, who runs a blog about the project at lettherebelighthouse.com. "People have been very generous with their time and their support and they're owed honesty."

It's unclear why Lighthouse staff didn't respond Wednesday night. But in an interview Thursday, Wang denounced the Press story.

"There's no truth to the story," Wang said. "It's bogus. There are no plans to abandon the project."

Long Island Press editor Michael Martino, who wrote the story, said he stands by it.

"I did not expect the Lighthouse people to say anything or respond in any other way than they did today," Martino said Thursday. "Our information was solid. I think this is a scramble to handle a possible PR nightmare."

Wang said Thursday that he is continuing to "look at all options," which could include selling or moving the team. But he added: "My heart is still on Long Island. I love Long Island. This is where the Islanders belong. Let's play hockey."
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  #36  
Old Posted Oct 22, 2009, 2:29 PM
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/sp...rssnyt&emc=rss

Islanders Foe or Prudent Politician? Hempstead’s Murray Stands Her Ground


Kate Murray, supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, and her board have the power to block, delay or approve the zoning for a $3.8 billion plan to refurbish the Nassau Coliseum.


By KEN BELSON and JEFF Z. KLEIN
October 21, 2009

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Depending on whom you speak to, Kate Murray is either an hard-headed obstructionist willing to drive the Islanders out of Long Island, a principled public servant protecting taxpayers or a Republican veteran holding out for a political ransom.

Murray has been tagged with these and other less flattering labels because as supervisor of the Town of Hempstead, she and her board have the power to block, delay or approve the zoning for the Lighthouse Project, a $3.8 billion plan to refurbish the Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders’ shabby home, and build thousands of homes, offices and stores nearby. The project was first proposed in 2003 and Murray is one of its last, and seemingly most stubborn, hurdles. She says she’s only doing her job.

“As much as I’ve tried, if you go any faster, you’re going to end up in court,” Murray said while sitting in her corner office, which is adorned with a small bust of Ronald Reagan and photos of George Pataki, the former Republican governor of New York. “It could be painful if it’s not done right.”

The project is one of the biggest developments ever on Long Island and it has been billed as critical to revitalizing the local economy as well as the Islanders, one of hockey’s most beleaguered franchises. First proposed in 2003, the negotiations have dragged on so long that a frustrated Charles Wang, the team’s owner and a lead investor in the development, has threatened to sell or move the team if it is not approved soon.

Politicians who get in the way of big real estate deals projects rarely get love letters from the business community, particularly during a recession when work is scarce. But when the projects include new sports venues and rabid fans are added to the mix, the pressure on politicians is even more pronounced.

Murray is unrepentant. She says her board has moved with relative haste in the 20 months since it received the developers’ application and that similar-sized projects on Long Island have taken far longer. Though she us up for re-election, she denies that politics have played a role, yet notes that Nassau County — which is led by an outspoken Democrat — took four years to push the project onto her desk.

Murray wants to ensure that the estimated $71 million in new taxes that would be generated by the project are not given back in subsidies. She understands that the Islanders are important to Long Island, but wants to assuage towns and environmental groups that are concerned about heavier traffic. New wells would also be needed to supply two million gallons of water a day to the 150-acre development.

In their defense, Murray and her supporters point to Bruce Ratner, the owner of the New Jersey Nets, who has spent years and millions of dollars fending off lawsuits and other problems in his quest to build the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn that includes the Barclays Center basketball arena.

None of Murray’s professed prudence has persuaded the construction workers, businessmen and Islander fans who have bombarded her telephone hotline and e-mail account with complaints and likened her to a “sumo goalie” blocking the net. In a poll released last week by Newsday, News 12 Long Island and Siena Research Institute, 51 percent of Long Islanders said they support the Lighthouse project.

Proponents argue that the delays paint Long Island as an inhospitable place to do business and host a pro sports team.

“In most municipalities, you’d think the town would be rolling out the red carpet to get a $3 billion investment that will not just keep the Islanders, but expand our tax base and make us a destination,” said Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau county executive and Murray’s chief antagonist. “God forbid someone comes up with a better alternative.”

Wang and executives at the Lighthouse Project declined to be interviewed for this article. But in a statement last week, Wang denied a report that said he was pulling the plug on the Lighthouse project, and that having supplied the Town of Hempstead with all the required documents, it was time for the Town Board to make a decision.

“Long Island stands in this defining moment waiting for an answer. Yes or no,” he said.


A frustrated Wang, who has lost tens of millions of dollars since buying the Islanders in 2000, has looked for new homes for his team, if only to gain leverage in negotiations. In September, the Islanders played an exhibition game in Kansas City, where city officials have been trying to attract a team to play in the new Sprint Center, but it drew only about 8,000 fans.

A strong Canadian dollar has brought interest from north of the border. Last week, Quebec City unveiled plans for a $400 million N.H.L.-standard arena to attract a club to replace the Quebec Nordiques, who moved to Denver in 1995. Winnipeg, which lost the Jets in 1996, is also in the hunt for a new team. And this month, the Canadian billionaire James L. Balsillie lost a court case in which he sought to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario.

Business leaders in Queens have acclaimed the 65 acres in Willets Point adjoining Citi Field as an ideal home for an arena and residential-commercial district. The city has already taken control of about 70 percent of the property in that area, which has ample parking and access to mass transit and highways.

Leaders in Brooklyn have invited Wang to consider the Barclays Center, which would have to be redesigned to include a hockey rink when and if Ratner gets final approval to build it.

“Brooklyn is the only place they should consider—and put everyplace else on ice,” said Marty Markowitz, the borough president. “We’ve got lots of hockey fans, and if they come here, I would personally take the first spin on the Zamboni.”


But Wang has had trouble touting these cities because the Islanders can not break their lease before 2015. More importantly, the National Hockey League — which must approve any move — appears to want the team to stay put.

“We continue to hope the Lighthouse project will receive the appropriate, and long-overdue, approvals that will keep the Islanders where they belong,” said Bill Daly, the league’s deputy commissioner.

Oddly, the N.H.L. may have strengthened Murray’s hand. On Monday, she received a letter from Wang, who said he wanted to meet to discuss the compromises that the Town is seeking.


Murray said that in general the board is concerned about who will pay for the road improvements; Wang has promised to spend $55 million, less than half of the expected cost.

She also said the Lighthouse’s two 36-story towers, half a million square feet of retail space and 2,300 homes have alarmed the neighboring towns of Uniondale, Roosevelt and Garden City, concerned that their schools and streets will be overwhelmed and their mom-and-pop shops driven out of business.

“We have to respect that this is a suburban community,” said Murray, who grew up in Levittown, America’s original suburb. “There’s a tension and a balance.”

Until the project is approved, fans and its backers are directing their tension at Murray.


Construction workers, including those at an August rally, have supported the $3.8 billion development in Nassau County.
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  #37  
Old Posted Jul 12, 2010, 9:44 PM
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http://www.1010wins.com/New-Plan-Cou...Projec/7667767

Plan Could Curb Nassau Coliseum-Area Development



12 July 2010

Quote:
An ongoing battle to develop 77 acres of prime real estate surrounding the New York Islanders' hockey arena had town officials and county brass feuding Monday over the size and scope of what should be built there.

The county, which owns the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the land around it, has expressed general support for Islanders' owner Charles Wang's vision to develop the property into a $3.8 billion housing, retail and office complex with a refurbished coliseum as its centerpiece.

The property is one of the last remaining large parcels of undeveloped land in Nassau County, which considers itself America's "first suburb,'' because it is home to the post-World War II Levittown development.

Hempstead Town leaders, who have zoning jurisdiction over the property, proposed their own development plan Monday, essentially cutting Wang's proposal in half.

Wang's Lighthouse Project, first proposed in 2003 and amended several times since, calls for 35-story residential and office towers. Hempstead's proposal would limit building to no higher than a nine-story hotel currently occupying part of the land.


Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said the scaling back of the project would address concerns of residents who are worried about the impact of traffic and other lifestyle issues if Wang's larger project were approved.

"Creating a zone that encourages reasonable development is the key to supporting our tax base,'' Murray said, adding the town's plan would include a renovated Coliseum, "which would keep the Islanders hockey team here where they belong.''

Wang has been quiet on the controversy for more than nine months, although there have been hints he might consider selling or moving the hockey franchise if he doesn't get his way. The team played an exhibition game last year in Kansas City, where an arena has been built in hopes of attracting a professional sports franchise.

But in an unusual move, the Lighthouse developers and Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano issued a joint statement saying the town's proposal "looks to be economically unviable.''

"It does not appear to achieve the goals of the county and the developer,'' the statement said.


Mangano, who like Murray is a Republican, also has been negotiating with the Shinnecock Indian Tribe about the possibility of operating a gambling casino on the Coliseum site. A Mangano spokesman declined to comment on the negotiations, but federal and state approval would be a prerequisite for the Shinnecock to operate a casino off of its tribal lands on eastern Long Island.

The Shinnecock, which last month was granted formal federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, have been listening to proposals for operating casinos at various locations on Long Island, but have not made a formal commitment to any location.
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  #38  
Old Posted Jul 13, 2010, 9:20 PM
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How far out in the suburbs is this development? Is it like 40 miles away from Brooklyn?
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  #39  
Old Posted Jul 14, 2010, 4:50 PM
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How far out in the suburbs is this development? Is it like 40 miles away from Brooklyn?
Uniondale in Nassau County, no more than 10 miles.
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Old Posted Jul 14, 2010, 8:01 PM
JayPro JayPro is offline
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Originally Posted by NYC4Life View Post
Uniondale in Nassau County, no more than 10 miles.
If even that...

Anyway, this whole rigamarole may be all for naught as news that I've been hearing of the Isles' departure has been resurfacing. And I thought this entire development was supposed to be the prime motivator to keep them here on LI.
I know, it was also meant to give the Hempstead/Uniondale/East Meadow/Roosevelt/Garden City/Franklin Square/Westbury/Carle Place/Mineola/New Hyde park/Elmont/Valley Stream Jumble-Opolis a transport and retail hub.

But as is wont to happen here, the local politicians either squabble over woefully under-researched proposals or do what the New York representative to the Second Continental Congress would always do in the movie "1776": Abstain from everything.
     
     
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