The North Hempstead Housing Authority and Nassau County Industrial Development Agency have reached an agreement to extend a 30-year tax break program begun in 2000 for the renovation of 52 low-income rental units in the Pond View Homes community in Manhasset, officials said.
Sean Rainey, the housing authority’s executive director, said Monday that several utility upgrades, including “electric [systems], significant underground pipe work,” as well as the expansion of community spaces and playgrounds, would be included as part of the renovation.
A “surface renovation” was conducted to the apartment units in the early 2000s, but a more complete overhaul is required now due to the age of the complex, which was first developed in 1962, Rainey said.
Earlier this winter, underground pipes burst and the complex has experienced some sewer backflow, Rainey said, but the issues were quickly resolved because the ground hadn’t yet frozen over with the season’s frequent snowfall.
“It hasn’t gotten to the point that we’re worried about things catching fire,” he added, “but we want to be pre-emptive about this.”
The new tax break agreement with the county calls for a 10 percent increase of the current payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal starting in 2031, whereupon the housing authority would pay $28,600 through 2040, according to a news release on the agreement issued by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s office.
Payments would increase 10 percent again in 2041, to $31,460, for each year through 2045.
In a statement, Mangano lauded the deal, saying: “My administration has worked tirelessly to increase affordable residential housing and rental opportunities. With more than 1,000 new rental residences under construction throughout Nassau, my economic development team is addressing the demand for rental housing on Long Island. Rehabilitation and renovation of Pond View Homes will certainly provide tenants with another affordable housing option.”
Rainey said the housing authority has envisioned a modern facility similar to the Spinney Hill development in Great Neck.
The majority of apartments primed for renovation are two-bedroom units that cost approximately $1,200 per month, Rainey said. One apartment slated for work has five bedrooms.
He said some of the tenants living in those apartments are being relocated to vacant units within the complex, while others have found other housing options and moved out of Pond View.
Designs for the renovations are currently being completed, but Rainey declined to disclose an estimate cost on the work or name the contractors involved in the project, as exact figures have not yet been finalized.
The renovation plan and tax break proposal required the approval of the North Hempstead Town Council and Manhasset Board of Education prior to being presented to the county.
“We want to provide a safe, clean beautiful community for our residents,” Rainey said.
