The Village of Floral Park Board of Trustees encouraged residents to show up and voice their opinions to Empire State Development public hearings Jan. 8, 9 and 10.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald, liaison to the Belmont Arena Redevelopment project for the board, reminded residents that ESD will be holding three public hearings next week to listen to residents’ concerns over the project at the board’s meeting Wednesday night.
The meetings will all be held at Elmont Memorial Library. The first will take place Jan. 8 at 6 p.m., the next Jan. 9 at 4 p.m. and the last at Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.
“We are urging all residents to attend and comment on this ever-growing project that now encompasses the parking lots here in Floral Park,” Fitzgerald said.
Two proposed parking lots for the development would be in the immediate vicinity of both the Floral Park-Bellerose School and Floral Park Memorial High School.
The project, proposing to redevelop Belmont Park to include an arena home for the New York Islanders, retail space, hotel and several parking lots, recently received approval for its draft environmental impact study from the ESD board.
The next phase of the project, adopting the proposed General Project Plan, includes the three public hearings as part of a community outreach effort.
Speaking at the hearings is also imperative, Fitzgerald said, as well as emailing the Belmont outreach team and writing letters. The board will directly deliver or mail the letters for residents, village officials said.
The village board also announced the date of the upcoming village elections.
The general village election will be held on Tuesday, March 19. Polls will open at noon and close at 9 p.m.
The village will be broken up into four districts for voting purposes. The 1st district will vote at Reliance Firehouse on Holland Avenue, the 2nd and 3rd districts at the Recreation Center on Stewart Street and the 4th district at the Atlantic Avenue Fire House.
Also at the meeting, the board authorized a stipend award of $5,000 each to Department of Public Works tree pruners Glen Steinecke and Joseph Esposito for assuming additional duties in the current absence of a tree supervisor.
The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Jan. 15
