Village of Floral Park Trustees Kevin Fitzgerald and Archie T. Cheng said Floral Park’s business district is among the issues they will address if re-elected in March.
“We’ll do everything we can to give back to the community that has helped us in so many ways,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald and Cheng, who are running unopposed, spoke about frustrations over the handling of the Belmont Park project.
According to Fitzgerald, the village obtained documents showing that state officials had no intention of taking local concerns into account during the project’s planning.
According to the documents, a “master plan” for the Belmont Arena project was discussed by developers two years before the state issued a request for the redevelopment of the property.
The project includes a 19,000-seat arena for the New York Islanders, 350,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, a hotel containing 250 rooms and parking on 43 acres of vacant state-owned property at Belmont Park.
“The village always knew something was going to be constructed there,” Fitzgerald said. “We don’t mind that something is being constructed, but to have ESD treat our input and concerns as just ‘going through the motions’ was disappointing to see,” referring to Empire State Development, the agency overseeing the project.
“Environmental studies were not conducted and [traffic, parking] studies that were conducted were sprung on the village,” Cheng said. “Traffic concerns, parking restrictions, the need for more law enforcement, this project was not planned the way we all wanted it to.”
Empire State Development representative Jack Sterne disputed the claims by Cheng and Fitzgerald.
“As we have previously said, the Belmont Redevelopment Project went through a transparent, public process that followed all requirements under state law,” he said.
Despite frustrations on Belmont, both trustees said they shared excitement over improving Floral Park’s business district by establishing a business improvement district.
While they did not have preferences on what specific businesses they would like to see come, Cheng said the only requirement would be a useful service to the village.
“It could be a construction firm, an accounting firm, a bank, that part we aren’t too worried about,” Cheng said. “What we want businesses to know is that our village is a great place to not just live, but to thrive as a business.”
The trustees said they would be willing to work with local builders and speak to businesses that are interested in expanding.
They also said the village is starting a business district beautification committee and will be organizing a master plan in the near future.
“I think everyone’s business district could improve, just like all aspects in a village,” Fitzgerald said. “For Floral Park, we have terrific store owners and businesses here, but we can always seek to enhance it for the residents.”
While discussing potential areas for businesses, Cheng mentioned Plainfield Avenue and Jericho Turnpike as options. Fitzgerald noted that one problem will be parking.
“It will certainly be a struggle,” Cheng said. “Places like Mineola are fine with garage and double-decker parking, but Floral Park is different than Mineola. It won’t make it impossible to expand here, but it does add another element.”
A Floral Park resident since 1999, Fitzgerald first got involved in the village government as a member of the Third Track Task Force.
He was appointed to the village board in 2011, while Cheng was appointed to the board in 2016, following the death of former Trustee James Rhatigan. Fitzgerald was named deputy mayor after Rhatigan’s death.
Cheng has been a Floral Park resident since 1978 and was the village’s prosecuting attorney since 1984. He was also previously president of both the Floral Park-Bellerose and Sewanhaka school boards.
“We’ve both been a part of this area for so long, we care about it deeply,” Fitzgerald said. “Floral Park is a place that we’ve both been blessed to live and raise our families and we strive to keep helping everyone else who lives here.”
“Being involved with certain organizations and groups within the community allows us to know what residents want to see improved,” Cheng said. “It also gives us a sense of things that people may not want to see or wish to have less of.”
Fitzgerald and Cheng said their main goal is to continue helping the village grow and encouraging others to start their lives and families here.
The village elections will be held on Wednesday, March 18. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. Voting takes place in four districts. The first district will vote at the Reliance Fire House, the second and third districts will vote at the Recreation/Pool Building, and the fourth district will vote at the Atlantic Avenue Fire House. The district map can be found online at https://fpvillage.org/village-election-information/.
