♪♪

>> Funding for the

"Long Island Business Report"

has been provided by...

The Rauch Foundation

and by the JPB Foundation

and the Ford Foundation.

>> Hello, and thanks for

joining us.

I'm Jim Paymar with the

"Long Island Business Report."

The Village of Hempstead,

once the hub of retail

in Nassau County, has been

struggling for years to regain

its lost stature.

Today it appears dreams

are becoming a reality.

The Village recently broke

ground on a massive

$2 1/2-billion redevelopment

project.

It includes 3,500 residential

units and 2.2 million square

feet of mixed-use retail,

office, hospitality,

entertainment, and cultural

space.

But there are concerns of

gentrification and displacement

of Hempstead Village residents,

20% who live below the poverty

line.

As part of our ongoing reporting

initiative "Chasing the Dream:

Poverty and Opportunity

in America," we're discussing

the challenges faced by

the Hempstead Revitalization

Plan, and joining me to discuss

the issue are Don Monti,

President and C.E.O. of

Renaissance Downtowns

and Mayor Wayne Hall of

the Village of Hempstead.

Don and Wayne, thank you so much

for being here today.

>> Thanks for having us.

>> And congratulations.

I mean, it's been a long time.

I picked up a New York Times

article from 2007.

You guys have been working on

this for about 10 years now,

and you finally got shovels

in the ground.

Don, what's your prognosis

for the future?

>> Well, it's sort of like

nothing good comes easy,

and I think that the partnership

that the Mayor and I have forged

over the last eight years is

finally paying its dividends.

Most importantly, I think those

dividends will be seen by

the Village residents.

We plan on having the initial

construction adhere 100% to

the Community Benefits Agreement

whereby 25% of the workforce,

the goal is to have

the workforce be Village

residents, contractors

be Village contractors,

so this is really something

when you mentioned

gentrification, it's far from

that.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We made an initial commitment

when we first got involved

to the Mayor and to

the community that there would

be no displacements of any

residents, there would be no

displacement of businesses,

that we would have a relocation

strategy so that we could see

a fulfillment of the overall

development.

So, bottom line is, we're

committed to doing things

in what we call the triple

bottom line -- social,

environmental, and economic

responsibility.

>> But, Mr. Mayor, that

gentrification that Don was just

talking about, that was

a concern of residents of

Hempstead.

They were afraid that perhaps

the new development might

displace them, and that's

something that you had to work

through the community in order

to move forward, correct?

>> Right.

You know, we had outside

interference about

gentrification because they

look at Barclays Center,

they look at Harlem, and they

see that the redevelopment

caused many people to be moved

away.

We have guaranteed, and Don

has guaranteed me that there

wouldn't be any gentrification.

The apartments that we're

putting in the Village

are affordable.

They range from $800 to about

$1,300, and we're using

the median income of

the Village of Hempstead,

not the median income of

Nassau County.

So that's gonna make it more

affordable for our residents.

So 80% of the median income

of Hempstead is gonna make

the apartments available

to our residents, and for

the first six months, it's only

gonna be Hempstead residents

that can apply for

the apartments.

So there's no gentrification

going on.

>> And this, really, Don,

is a transformative project.

I mean, Hempstead has suffered

through the years as

Roosevelt Field took all

the business away from The Hub,

and, you know, businesses were

dispersed, poverty kind of set

in.

I mean, this is really gonna

change the playing field.

>> Well, it's going to bring

Hempstead back to its glory

days, and it's gonna do so,

as I said, in a responsible

manner, and to the Mayor's

point, the first thousand units,

the zoning ordinance calls

for a 10% affordable-housing

component.

We're almost 40% of the first

thousand units that will be

affordable.

So we're committed to

the Village residents to see

that they have opportunities

to live and work and shop

and learn and play in their

Village.

>> Let me ask you why you take

a risk in some of these more

depressed areas?

And we just did a big story

on Wyandanch Rising out

in the town of Babylon

doing the same thing.

Why that risk when you can build

a tower someplace and be assured

of a big profit?

>> I sort of ask myself that

every morning.

>> [ Laughs ]

>> But the real truth is,

about eight years ago, I had an

epiphany, and for many years,

I developed in a very socially

irresponsible manner, and I

determined -- I am determined

to change that and have

committed myself to developing

downtowns, suburban downtowns

centered around transit,

and there is no better transit

hub on Long Island than

the Village of Hempstead.

So we're looking to create

the kinds of places that our

young people want to live in,

and many homeowners that really

have no need for that house

anymore, they don't really have

an alternative.

So this is sort of like

the bookends -- the millennials

and the boomers living in

downtowns around trains,

around buses, in

pedestrian-friendly

environments.

This is what's going to keep

our young people here.

>> And, Mayor, I saw that,

you know, you were quoted as

saying the Hempstead line starts

and ends in Hempstead.

So you've got a ready-made

transit conduit, and you can

develop what we call

a transit-oriented development.

>> And as Don said, we have

the best transportation.

The bus terminal goes into --

The buses go into Queens,

go to the beaches, go to

the North Shore, go to

Suffolk County.

All the roads lead to

Hempstead -- you know, the main

thoroughfares.

>> Hempstead Turnpike, and...

>> Right.

And then we also have the train

that goes to Brooklyn, goes to

Manhattan, and people that can't

afford those high rents in

Manhattan or even Brooklyn

can live right there at

the transit hub, get to

Manhattan, hang out in

Manhattan, come home, don't

have to drive.

>> Right.

>> So, you know, Hempstead

is still the hub -- maybe not

the retail hub, but it's still

the hub, and it will always be

the hub.

>> Is most of the housing

going to be built around

the train station and bus area

so that people can actually

just walk there?

They don't need cars,

you don't need parking?

>> Right.

It's on the left --

It's going to be built on

the left side of the train.

The train is here, and most

of the development is going to

be on the west side of

the train.

>> Right.

>> So all they have to do is

come off the train, go home.

There's gonna be

the restaurants, gonna be

the business, it's going to --

It's going to transform

the Village of Hempstead.

>> You know, I know that area

really well, and I always wonder

why there wasn't a plan or

a project to connect

the West Hempstead Long Island

Railroad Station with

the Hempstead Railroad Station

so that you could have kind of

a north, south, and circular way

of getting around?

Has that ever been discussed,

Wayne?

>> No, it has never been

discussed, but what has been

discussed was a light-rail

from Hempstead to over

to the Coliseum.

>> I see.

>> They had spoken about that,

but not from West Hempstead.

>> Okay.

>> So there's still

a possibility that that

light-rail will come from

Hempstead and go over to

the Coliseum when they develop.

>> That's still being discussed?

>> Yeah.

>> Or still being thought about?

>> It's still on the table.

>> People think about this stuff

for a long time.

[ Laughs ]

>> Right.

It's still on the table.

>> Don -- All of a sudden, Don,

I've seen some of

the renderings.

I mean, Hempstead looks like

a totally different place.

I mean, it looks like

a different city.

>> We see

the Village of Hempstead,

which --

>> And then that word "Village"

drives me crazy because there's

70,000 people in Hempstead,

correct?

>> Officially 55,000.

>> Yeah.

>> Officially 55,000?

Okay.

I thought I read something --

>> It's the largest village

in the state, and one of,

if not the largest village

in the country.

>> Why do they call it

a village if it's 55,000 people?

>> That's a good question.

You'll have to ask

the Village Fathers that,

going back.

>> You have to get legislation

from Albany in order to become

a city.

You got to get the charter

from the city.

>> Is there an advantage

to being a city?

>> The advantage is you get

sales tax.

We don't get sales tax.

All the businesses in

the Village, the car dealers,

the Stop & Shop, Home Depot,

the tax go to the county,

goes to the town, and goes

to the city, and then the county

decides to give us a little

piece of the taxes, which is

about $149,000, but

the Village probably generates

about $4 million to $5 million

in taxes.

>> So why not become a city,

then?

>> Because if we wanted to

become a city, we'd have to go

to Albany, and the other towns,

the town, the county, and

the two cities will --

>> Will fight you.

>> ...fight me for that because

now we're going to --

>> They want the money.

>> Right.

They want it, so...

>> Okay, follow the money.

>> Right.

So we would get a piece

of their pie, and they don't

want that.

>> Okay.

But, Don, getting back

to the original question.

This is going to be

a transformative project,

and we're going to see

a totally different Hempstead.

How long is it gonna take before

we really -- You know, before

I drive down Franklin Avenue

and see that this is totally

different?

>> Well, people don't realize

that this Village of Hempstead,

which the Central Business

District is about 100 acres.

We took title to about 32 of

those 100 acres in December

of '15, so most of that was

parking lots, and most of those

parking lots were off

the tax rolls.

So what we're really gonna do

is we're gonna take property,

put it back into a use that

generates economic development,

and when done, there will be

approximately 5 million

square feet of total buildable

area, which puts it --

Again, I'm referring to

the Village of Hempstead.

>> Right.

>> ...as the largest single

project ever approved on

Long Island -- fully entitled.

So it's a sleeping giant waiting

to happen.

The overall build-out is between

8 and 10 years, which comes

quickly.

>> Uh-huh.

>> We were eight or nine years

in getting to where we are

before we put a shovel in

the ground, so another 8 to 10

years to have it fully built,

this will be the model for

the country to follow without

question of how to redevelop

a suburban downtown around

transit and get the maximum

benefits for both residents,

the municipality, and

the development community.

>> Wayne, why does it take

so long to go through

the process of planning

and actually getting that first

shovel in the ground?

>> In our case, we just had,

you know, some of the residents

file lawsuits against

the Village and the developer,

and we had to wait for the case

to be settled, and then once we

won the case, then they appeal.

Then we had to go through that

process, and then once they lost

that, then they found something

else to sue us about.

So it was a long process

with the lawsuits that we had,

and, also, you know, we needed

to have a majority on

the Board, and sometimes they

didn't want to go through

approving anything because

there was some residents outside

complaining about it, and they

were concerned about getting

re-elected.

>> But for the residents of

the Village of Hempstead,

they're gonna benefit by, "A,"

being part of the building

process, "B," getting upgraded

housing prospects, new retail

where there will be jobs

to be had, and so there is

a tremendous economic

opportunity.

>> But you said it at

the beginning.

They were concerned about

gentrification.

We had newsletters going out,

"You're going to be gentrified.

You're going to be moved out.

You're going to lose your

Section 8."

And people were rebelling

against us.

So we had to try to explain

to them that's not the case.

We're not gonna move you out.

This is going to be

Hempstead first.

So I think we got past that,

but there's still some people

that are still fighting us,

but we're moving forward.

>> It only takes one person,

and, interestingly,

the majority of lawsuits

have been brought in what we

call a pro se manner, which

means that the plaintiffs

in the lawsuit never even hired

an attorney.

They just used their

Constitutional rights, brought

a lawsuit, which was meant to do

nothing but delay...

>> Uh-huh.

>> ...and what they don't

realize is that the vast

majority of the Village

of Hempstead wants to go to

work, wants to see economic

development, and at full

build-out, this project

represents 12,000

construction jobs here

and 6,000 permanent jobs.

So we can take a Village

of Hempstead, which has a real

unemployment rate north

of 30%...

>> Really?

>> ...and bring it down to

almost zero.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So what we're really saying

is that there's got to be

a better answer and a better

solution to Article 78

that actually prevent

economic development and

actually keep people jobless.

>> Well, how do you change that?

How does that get changed?

>> There's talk about

legislative change.

You never want to take anyone's

right to bring an action, but

there has to be a more expedient

way to resolve it.

At the end, something is either

right or it's wrong, and if it's

right, let's get on with it,

and if it's wrong, let's not.

>> So get rid of the rules and

regulations that don't work,

that inhibit growth and

prosperity?

>> Just expedite the process.

Because time is money,

and the more time it takes,

the more money it costs,

and it all filters down

to the project.

So what we're asking for

is one thing, and that is,

we want to put people to work.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We want to provide housing,

jobs, and other economic

opportunities to Village

residents first, and I would say

that 90% of the Village

residents feel that way.

Why not?

>> Yep.

Wayne, Hempstead gets a bad rap

a lot of times for the crime

problems that it has.

How does a project like this

impact and lower crime and lower

poverty?

I mean, obviously, you know,

you're gonna have jobs,

you're gonna have retail,

you're gonna have people.

It transforms itself.

So, would you expect a lowering

of the poverty rate

significantly?

>> I do because here's what

happens.

A lot of our young people get

themselves in trouble with

the law.

They get incarcerated,

they come out, they have no

training.

They go back and do the same

thing they did to get them

in trouble, so our whole idea

is to get these young men --

older men, also -- and give them

some job training.

We were fortunate enough

that the Governor gave

the Village of Hempstead

a $1.5-million grant just

to fight poverty.

So we're gonna take that

to do more job training

with our younger people,

the high school students.

By the time they get out of

school, they'll be job-ready,

or if they want to go on to

college, they will go on to

college.

The young men that get out

of prison, they will be trained,

and they won't go back to

committing any more crime

because now they have some hope.

We have the union on board

that they're gonna give some

of these young men

apprenticeship training,

and this is, to me, an indirect

way of fighting crime, because

they come out, and they have

nothing to do, and they do

the same thing over again.

>> Right.

>> But we're gonna give them

a chance, a second chance,

to learn a trade and become

productive young men, and,

in a way, that's going to

cut down on the crime,

and with our grant from

the Governor, I just see that

this is a win-win for all of us

in Hempstead.

>> Don, are you gonna be putting

these folks to work?

>> Well, absolutely, and,

you know, I'm proud to say

that that was a goal that we had

right from the outset, and it's

in writing.

It's part of the zoning law.

It's probably the first that we

know of in the country where

the Community Benefits Agreement

is actually baked into

the zoning code.

So it's not a handshake.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> It's something that if

the Mayor sees that things

are not being done properly,

then there'll be a stop order,

work order put on a project.

So we're not playing games here.

We mean what we say and we say

what we mean.

>> So, what about the training?

How do you develop trained

workers?

I mean, you're talking about

a $2 1/2-billion project.

We're not talking about peanuts

here.

>> The building trades have

committed to apprenticeship

programs.

We've also had several

OSHA training programs that

people have gone through

already.

Everyone's chomping at the bit.

>> I see.

>> We've been doing this for

the last few years with

Evangelist Benjamin.

So we have been trial and error.

We put maybe about 200 people,

young men that when we have

redevelopment come into

Hempstead, I talk to

the developer --

"Give these guys a chance."

So they have been doing it.

So we had about three or four

new apartment buildings, and

we had young men working over

there.

Some of them had went on

with the contractor to other

jobs, so it works, and this is

what this is about -- helping

our young people.

>> It builds on itself.

>> Right.

>> You know, you mentioned

a moment ago -- and I'm

interested in this -- is

the whole idea of kind of

a connectivity of the Village

of Hempstead with Hofstra,

with the Coliseum area.

We've got Museum Row,

you've got Roosevelt Field,

and there was talk of this whole

light-rail project.

I mean, this could become

part of a much bigger project.

>> No question.

>> Right.

>> No question.

Especially the talk that we're

hearing now with the biotech

industry coming to the Coliseum.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> These will mean that there

will be young men and women

that are gonna be looking for

housing.

So what a wonderful thing

where from the Village of

Hempstead, 8/10's of a mile

away, somebody could bike

to work and back.

So we're in an absolute prime

location for this.

>> You're central.

>> Central to everything,

and so whether it be nurses,

which there's a shortage of,

and I was talking to Mr. Dowling

from Northwell about

the shortage of nurses.

It's the shortage of everything

here on Long Island, and

the only way to correct that

is to provide people not only

with housing, what we call

workforce housing...

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ...but provide them with

vibrancy, because --

>> They want to live someplace.

>> They want to live somewhere

where they can actually walk

down and have their downtown

be an extension of their living

area.

>> Right.

Well, what about

the connectivity, Wayne?

I mean, right down the street,

you've got Hofstra.

>> Right.

We have Molloy, we have Adelphi,

we have Nassau Community.

>> And isn't there an old

Long Island railroad train track

that runs somewhere through

Garden City that's, like,

abandoned?

>> Right.

>> The track is still there,

but couldn't we utilize that

somehow?

>> Well, you know, they utilize

that when they have the circus.

>> Yeah, the circus.

>> They go back in the back

of the Coliseum, and they use

that, so...

>> Yeah, the circus is going

away.

>> Yeah, I know.

The last performance is coming

in April.

>> At the Coliseum.

>> Right.

But, you know, one of the other

things with this project,

30% of the property in

the downtown area is off

the tax roll.

So, by building, we are going to

put more property on

the tax roll.

By the time we have

the build-out, we're going to

realize about $70 million to

$80 million in real property

taxes.

60% goes to the school.

Maybe, I think, 25% goes to

the Village, and 15% to

the county.

So, I mean, the property

that we have is mostly

parking lots that are there,

and they generate maybe $30,000

for the Village.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> You put a building on there,

it's gonna generate the first

year about $800,000.

I mean, this year we had raised

taxes 1%.

If I had that building on there,

I would not have raised any

taxes.

>> I see.

So this is gonna be a tremendous

income-generator for

the Village of Hempstead.

>> It is going to be a win-win

for the residents, and they

always talk about taxes

are too high.

>> Yeah.

>> That's why we're building.

>> Well, Don, after this first

building...

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ...what's the next building?

What's next?

>> Well, we have, actually,

five site plans that have been

approved.

We have nine additional

site plans that were filed

this past December, so we're

in a position to kick off,

based on market demand,

several different projects,

and the reason I say that is

the last thing you want to do

is have only apartment buildings

going up at the same time.

So we're in discussions

with hotel operators.

We're in discussion

with retailers.

We're in discussion

with office users.

We're in discussion with

the creating an incubator space

in the Village of Hempstead --

sort of like a we-work

atmosphere.

>> Right.

And what kind of enticement

is there for those kinds of

folks, the people who are

developing an office building

or a hotel to take a chance

on Hempstead?

>> Well, let's take an office

as an example.

Where would you rather be

if you have a company with

100 employees?

Where would you like to be

at lunchtime?

>> Somewhere where I could get

a bite to eat and somewhere --

>> And walk the street

and breathe some fresh air

and do a little shopping,

and the whole point is that

this is not my idea,

this is what the market

is demanding.

So we're seeing a shift.

>> It's a new Long Island,

and it's a new Hempstead,

right?

>> I believe in Hempstead,

and this is really gonna be

a positive thing for all of us.

>> And if you look out 5,

10 years when this thing is

all built out, you know,

are you gonna attract people

from different parts of

Long Island to come to

Hempstead?

>> I really believe this is --

Hempstead is gonna be

the destination point.

It got young people.

You know, we have

the brain drain on Long Island

where the kids say, "I can't

live on Long Island 'cause I

can't afford it."

>> Yeah, can't afford it,

and there's nothing to do.

>> Right.

I have a 32-year-old still

living with me, and this is

building for him.

>> Yeah, get him out of

the house.

>> Yeah.

>> [ Laughs ]

>> You know, so I think that

people -- The young people

don't have that same attitude

about Hempstead as the older

generation.

>> Uh-huh.

>> And I think that they

would come.

You know, if you build it,

they will come.

They will see that if we make it

a vibrant downtown for them,

also, where they can have

a great place --

You know, Tom Suozzi always

said, "Have a vibrant downtown,

and the young people will come."

>> Yeah.

>> And that's what we're

looking to do.

>> Okay.

Well, you know, we could go on

for another half-hour.

These half-hours go very

quickly, but I congratulate

both of you on your hard work

and determination to make this

thing happen.

It's exciting.

I live near there, so I'm hoping

to come down and enjoy

the amenities when they get

built.

Thanks to Don and Wayne

for being with us, and that

wraps up our conversation

about the redevelopment

of the Village of Hempstead.

To learn more about

the "Chasing the Dream"

Initiative, please visit

chasingthedreamproject.org.,

and for more on the

"Long Island Business Report,"

log on to our website.

You can also find us on Facebook

and join the conversation on

Twitter.

Twitter's a big thing these

days.

[ Laughs ]

Thank you for joining us

for this edition of the

"Long Island Business Report,"

and we'll see you next time.

>> Funding for the

"Long Island Business Report"

has been provided by...

The Rauch Foundation

and by the JPB Foundation

and the Ford Foundation.

♪♪