The Mineola School District will commission a study to analyze the number of school-aged children that could enter its schools due to rising and proposed apartment complexes, mainly near the Mineola Long Island Rail Road station and Old Country Road. This comes after Mineola received a letter from a Melville-based environmental consulting firm that requested school information concerning district facilities to examine a proposed apartment building at 212 3rd St., home of LaunchPad Long Island.
“I think it’s time the school district [does] its own study and has some better information about what to expect from these buildings,” School District Superintendent Michael Nagler said.
Nelson, Pope and Voorhis LLC. is conducting an environmental review of a potential 12-story, 148-unit luxury apartment complex dubbed The Bridge, which includes 97 hotel units, according to Nagler. The 253,000 square-foot building would hold 28 studios, 104 one-bedroom dwellings and 16 two-bedroom apartments.
The letter says The Bridge would feature a restaurant on the first floor, a taxi stand and office space. Furthermore, The Bridge’s penthouse would hold a swimming pool, sun deck and lounge area. A two-level, 51,400 square-foot subsurface parking garage would offer 362 parking spaces and separate parking area would be dedicated to taxi parking.
According to the letter, Nelson is projecting 12 school-aged kids to live in the building.
“[The letter] asks a lot of questions,” Nagler said. “I commend [Nelson] for writing. They’re [asking] the school district to gain information about enrollment, projected enrollment, district expenditures, a district plan.”
The district and Mineola Village Board clashed over the recently approved the 266-unit Village Green by New Hyde Park-based Lalezarian Developers that will replace Citibank at 199 2nd St. dating back to late 2014. The verbal tussles centered around student influx and tax breaks (PILOTs) for residential developers that school officials argue strap school districts during budget season. Since PILOT revenue cannot count towards the tax base growth factor, school reps assert this hinders school districts from raising the tax levy.
The Mineola Village Building Department received zoning applications from building developers for The Bridge in December 2014 and April 2015, denying it each time, Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said.
“It was disapproved because it didn’t meet the zoning approvals,” Strauss said. “Now all of a sudden, we get this [letter] coming out.”
Strauss said the developer has not requested a hearing with the village board.
“They’re sending environmental review questionnaires but there’s no application for a hearing,” Strauss said. “There’s nothing in front of the village board. They haven’t requested a hearing. Will they? I’m assuming so.”
Mineola has become a hotbed for residential development of the last few years. The 275-unit Mineola Modera and its 36-senior housing component Hudson House are close to opening. Lalezarian’s 315-unit development at 1 Third Ave. across from the Nassau County Legislature is currently rising.
“From what I gather from this is that [212 3rd. St is] planning to present to the village board and they’re gathering information and I would happily supply this information,” Nagler said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to some of these things. I’m very uncomfortable projecting enrollment for our schools with all the new construction that’s taking place.”
According to the Voorhis letter, they utilized a 2006 report out of Rutgers University that details residential estimates of new housing to estimate the dozen or so possible students from The Bridge. It’s the same study Lalezarian used to determine school district impact for the Village Green, which projects eight students.
“I was curious where they came up with 12 school-age children,” Nagler said. “I don’t know how a building with twice as many apartments has fewer children predicted.”
“If I add it up right, with [The Bridge], that will bring it up to 1,006 new apartments to Mineola,” Mineola School Board Vice President Christine Napolitano said.
Regarding the school-commissioned study, Strauss said “he’s glad it’s coming.”
“I’m glad that the school board is pursuing its own study,” Strauss said. “We’d like to read it and if it’s more or less, that’s something we need to consider, good or bad.”
Nagler and Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Jack Waters will investigate possible companies to commence the school-run study and plan update the Mineola School Board on July 2.
