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.