The plan to remove 2.5 acres of parkland from Great Neck’s Kings Point Park to develop a parking lot for a neighboring religious center is no more.
The state Senate passed the bill 56-3 on Friday, June 13, but it then died in the state Assembly as it failed to be brought to a vote before the legislative session ended Tuesday.
State Sen. Jack Martins (R–Mineola) and state Assembly Member Daniel Norber (R–Great Neck) introduced the bills in their respective legislative houses.
The 175-acre Kings Point Park is considered a protected wetland under the Freshwater Wetlands Act of 1975. The state Department of Environmental Conservation oversees the park, which is operated by the Great Neck Park District. The park encompasses more than five miles of hiking trails and various amenities.
If the plan had been approved, the 2.5 acres from the park would have been given to the United Mashadi Jewish Community of America to establish a parking lot for its community center on Steamboat Road.
Efforts to solicit comments from the Mashadi Jewish Community of America were unavailing.
The agreement also included a requirement for the Village of Kings Point to designate 5.76 acres of other land as parkland, which would come from the former Wildwood Property to establish a tennis facility for the park district.
In a statement before the bill failed, the park district said that even if it did not pass, it would still pursue a lease to acquire the 5.67 acres of parkland connected to an additional 8 acres of wetlands owned by the Village of Kings Point.
The agreement was polarizing in the Great Neck community.
A Change.org petition opposed the parkland’s conversion to a parking lot, garnering more than 2,3000 signatures. About 72% of petitioners came from three Great Neck zip codes, including Kings Point.
Concerns expressed in the petition include the removal of mature trees, with the potential of increased flooding, increased runoff and reduced natural biodiversity.
But non-environmental concerns were also raised, including grievances over a lack of communication with the Great Neck community.
Concerned Citizens of NY-03, a Nassau County-wide good government group, was in opposition to the swap. Their concerns lay with the absence of an environmental analysis and public input on the swap, which is required.
“The Great Neck community is in the dark, left to guess at the impacts of the park alienation, trying to decipher fact from rumor,” the group wrote in a statement before the bill failed. “Great Neckers pay an enormous amount in taxes, and expect and deserve better.”
On the other side, thousands also gathered in support of the land swap.
A competing petition in support of the bills was launched on May 27. Within two days, it collected more than 1,200 signatures, ultimately garnering about 2,100.
This group stated they supported the land swap as it would have created more usable parkland for district residents, helped support community programming, preserved the natural environment, and protected against overdevelopment.
