Village, and the public, was right to turn away rental housing

The recent decision by the Massapequa Park Village Board of Trustees to reject a proposal for rental senior housing turned away the concept of rental units in the Village, not senior housing. That is a clear and decisive difference.

Massapequa Park Village has Golden Age Zoning, welcoming senior housing applications from developers. The code sets down the Village’s priorities: owner occupied condos or town houses on parcels that are at least two acres and giving Village residents ownership priority over non residents.

Clearly the code expressed the philosophy of the Village, which is that its senior housing would provide pride of ownership with ease of care to a group of existing residents who are looking for an alternative housing concept within Massapequa Park.

We believe the Village, prompted by the expressed will of the public, was right in adhering to the code and letting the developer know that the Village’s philosophy has not changed.

It was no willy nilly plan, this housing code. When it was drafted it was well thought out and publicized and underwent considerable discussion and debate. To change or circumvent it now for expedience would have been wrong.

That leaves the question, however, of how to develop the site of the 300 Bowl. Certainly the Village risks, as Mayor James Altadonna and the Village’s attorney suggested, a legal challenge from the owners of the property if it continuously denies all reasonable applications. It also risks having built there something that is more onerous than what has been proposed. But we believe we are a long way from that situation and that Village Fathers using ingenuity, creativity and leadership can assure that that doesn’t happen.